CITATIONS

Soon after taking office on June 30, President Marcos stated he would continue the ‘war against drugs’ initiated by his predecessor. While Marcos claimed his administration would do a ‘slightly different’ anti-drug campaign by focusing on the rehabilitation of drug users, the unlawful use of force by the police and government agents continued. Monitoring by Dahas, a program run by the Third World Studies Center of the University of the Philippines, found that at least 90 people had been killed in what the center termed ‘drug-related violence’ in the period since Marcos’ inauguration and September 30.

World Report 2023: Philippines, Human Rights Watch

The police reported that 46 people were killed during anti-drug operations since Marcos took office on June 30. But this is far below the estimate of the University of the Philippines’ Third World Studies Center, whose Dahas program monitors ‘drug war’ violence. The program tallied that 127 people were killed in ‘drug war’ incidents from July 1, the day after Marcos was sworn in, to November 7.

Philippines Undercounts Recent ‘Drug War Deaths’, Human Rights Watch

12 February 2023

International Criminal Court to Pursue Action Against Philippines’ Deadly Drug War

Michelle Bozzi, The Organization for World Peace

“’The war on drugs will continue so long as people are making money from it,’ Joel Ariate Jr., a researcher at the University of the Philippines, told Foreign Policy, expressing cynicism for the ICC’s intervention. ‘What chance is there that this process can lead to justice?'” Read full report

3 February 2023

PNP touts drug war wins, including killings

Dexter Cabalza, Philippine Daily Inquirer

A study by the Third World Studies Center of the University of the Philippines and the Development Studies of Ghent University in Belgium, however, presents a higher death toll. In the study called ‘Dahas,’ which includes a running count of drug-related killings based on media reports, 19 persons were killed from Jan. 1 to Jan. 31, adding to the 324 it tallied last year.” Read full report

1 February 2023

Manila’s countless dead

Margaret Simons, The Monthly

The Dahas figures tell a different story. They include any deaths where drugs were reported be part of the context as well as those carried out by unknown perpetrators. As one of the project’s publication states: ‘The war sprawls over a whole criminal complex beyond state authorities, and includes various criminal elements with varying intent to harm their victims. Failing to account for these casualties … offers a limited view of how the drug war accumulates its fatalities.'” Read full report

28 January 2023

‘Not welcome,’ Manila says as ICC resumes probe into Philippines’ ‘war on drugs’

Riyaz ul Khaliq, Anadolu Agency

“But data from Dahas, a monitoring project run by the University of the Philippines, revealed: ‘There were 175 drug-related killings in the country during Marcos’ first few months as President, or between 12 noon of June 30 and December 31, 2022.'” Read full report

27 January 2023

ICC to resume investigation into Philippines’s deadly drug war

Al Jazeera

“Dahas, which keeps track of reported drug-related killings, said earlier this month that 324 people had died in the drug war in 2022, including 175 in the first six months that Marcos Jr was in power.” Read full report

13 January 2023

Conflicting statistics

Manila Standard

“Dahas says there were 175 drug-related killings during the same period. This brings the total drug-related death toll to 324 in 2022 – a year that covered the last six months of the Duterte administration and the start of the Marcos administration.” Read full report

11 January 2023

The Philippines Is Losing Its ‘War on Drugs’

Margaret Simons, Foreign Policy

“In December 2022, Dahas, a research and advocacy project, reported that there had been 152 drug-related killings in the first five months of Bongbong’s regime. This surpassed the 149 killings in the last six months of Duterte’s reign.” Read full report

6 January 2023

The Filipino War on Drugs Killed Thousands. Now the Government Is Blaming Corrupt Police

Chad De Guzman, Time

“Dahas, a monitoring initiative from the University of the Philippines Diliman’s Third World Studies Center, reports even higher figures: recording 161 killings from June 30 to Dec. 7, 2022.” Read full report

6 January 2023

No sign Philippines drug war will end, despite promises from Marcos Jr.

Chris Fitzgerald, Globe

“The University of the Philippines’ Third World Studies Center’s Dahas program, which monitors the war on drugs, recently estimated that 127 people have been killed between 1 July, when Marcos Jr began his term, and 7 November.
This is far larger than the Philippine police estimate of 46 people killed during anti-drug operations during this period.”
 Read full report

20 December 2022

PNP assures public ‘Oplan Tokhang’ won’t be abused if revived

Jean Mangaluz, Philippine Daily Inquirer

The University of the Philippines Third World Studies Center said 127 people were killed in the government’s anti-drug campaign from July 1 to November 7, but PNP Chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. said the tally was only 46 – which was ‘very minimal.’ Read full report

15 December 2022

IN NUMBERS: People we lost under Marcos in 2022

Jairo Bolledo, Rappler

“However, the PNP’s number is more conservative compared to the 161 deaths Dahas has recorded from June 30 up to December 7. Dahas is run by University of the Philippines Diliman’s Third World Studies Center, which bases its data on reports about drug killings from various news outlets. Read full report

12 December 2022

Protestant Churches decry ‘state of brokenness’ of Philippines’ rights situation

Jose Torres Jr., LiCAS.news

“Citing a study done by the University of the Philippines Third World Studies Center, the NCCP said there have been 127 deaths connected with the ‘war on drugs’ from July 1 to November 7 this year, mostly attributed to state security forces. Read full report

21 November 2022

PNP on drug war deaths: We have no history of underreporting

Daniza Fernandez, Philippine Daily Inquirer

International group Human Rights Watch (HRW) earlier claimed that the PNP is underreporting the number of drug war deaths. Citing data from the University of the Philippines Third World Studies Center, the HRW said that there were 127 drug war deaths, higher than the police’s record of 46. Read full report

17 November 2022

The world is watching

Panay News

“As documented by the University of the Philippines’ Third World Studies Center, there have been 127 deaths connected with the drug war from July 1 to Nov. 7 this year, mostly by state security forces. Read full report

17 November 2022

Philippines Undercounts Recent ‘Drug War’ Deaths

Phil Robertson, Human Rights Watch

“The police reported that 46 people were killed during anti-drug operations since Marcos took office on June 30. But this is far below the estimate of the University of the Philippines’ Third World Studies Center, whose Dahas program monitors ‘drug war’ violence. The program tallied that 127 people were killed in ‘drug war’ incidents from July 1, the day after Marcos was sworn in, to November 7. Read full report

14 November 2022

PNP chief: 46 killed in ‘war on drugs’ operations under Marcos

Franco Luna, Philstar

“The number of deaths acknowledged by the PNP is much lower than that monitored by Dahas PH, a running count of reported drug-related killings by the Third World Studies Center at the University of the Philippines, which documented 127 drug suspects killed between July 1 and November 7. Read full report

19 October 2022

War on drugs continues in Marcos’s Philippines

Federico Segarra, La Prensa Latina

“The Dahas Project, which has been scrutinizing the drug war since 2017 based on local media reports, admits that in this new stage “there is no way of knowing” if the deaths occur in conditions similar to those of Duterte’s brutal campaign.” Read full report

18 October 2022

Kin of EJK victims hit Remulla son’s ‘special treatment’

Krixia Subingsubing, Inquirer.net

Drug-related killings also occur under the administration of President Marcos, according to Dahas, a program of the University of the Philippines’ Third World Studies Center. It said police and media reports showed more drug-related killings—in which the victim had alleged links to the illicit drug trade — in July, the first month of the Marcos presidency, than in June, the last month of the Duterte administration.

Altogether, 72 drug-related killings were recorded in July and August this year, Dahas said.” Read full report

28 September 2022

ICC finds no basis on PH govt’s arguments, reiterates probe on drug-related killings

Anne Marxze D. Umil, Bulatlat

“The Third World Studies Center of the University of the Philippines-Diliman claims that the running count on reported drug-related killings in the Philippines continues.” Read full report

24 September 2022

HRW disputes PNP’s ”bloodless’ antidrug efforts this month

Dempsey Reyes, Inquirer.net

“Phil Robertson, HRW’s deputy Asia director, stressed that data by the monitoring group Dahas PH, of which most members come from the University of the Philippines Third World Studies Program, showed “inaccuracy” on the ‘zero’ killings as touted by the Philippine National Police.

From the data of Dahas PH’s researchers, there were two deaths recorded this month, while 73 in July and August—the first two months of President Marcos in office.” Read full report

21 September 2022

PNP claims bloodless anti-drug operations in September

Dexter Cabalza, Inquirer.net

“No casualties were reported in all these operations,” he told reporters at the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City.

However, at least two persons were reported killed after shooting it out with the police, based on the monitoring of Dahas, a research project of the Third World Studies Center of the University of the Philippines Diliman and the Department of Conflict and Development Studies of Ghent University in Belgium.” Read full report

31 August 2022

Crime wave?

Manuel L. Quezon III, Inquirer.net

“The UP Third World Studies Center has a Twitter account, @DahasPH, which has been consistently keeping tabs on the killings. Its most recent figures add up as follows: in 2022, there have been 200 drug-related killings, 51 of them since the present administration began (this includes 13 “body dumps”). Reviewing the weekly count, the killings ranged in low single digits except for the week of the President’s first Sona, when 14 were killed, numbers hardly different from Duterte’s last month in office.” Read full report

16 August 2022

Lawmakers, enforcers want ‘community-based’ campaign vs drugs

Franco Luna, Philstar

“However, according to Dahas, a running count of the reported drug-related killings in the Philippines maintained by the Third World Studies Center of the University of the Philippines Diliman, the killings continue to this day, over a month after Duterte stepped down from public office.” Read full report