The Killing Squads: Inside the

Philippines War on Drugs

The sister of Jefferson Bunuan carrying his photo as they prepare
to take his body to Manilla South Cemetery. August 1, 2016.
2016 Carlo Gabuco for Human Rights Watch

A wreath sent by the Presidential Palace for the September 25,

2016 funeral of police officer Romeo Mandapat Jr, who was killed
during a drug bust operation in Caloocan, Metro Manila. 2016
Carlo Gabuco for Human Rights Watch
MARCH 2, 2017

Peter Bouckaert
Director, Emergenciesbouckap
Stephanie Hancock
Senior Media Officer@hancock_steph
More than 7,000 people have been killed in the Philippines
bloody war on drugs. New Human Rights Watch research finds
that the killing campaign against suspected drug users and
dealers, openly encouraged and applauded by President Rodrigo
Duterte, is effectively a war on the urban poor that could amount
to crimes against humanity. Human Rights Watchs emergencies
director, Peter Bouckaert, has made two trips to the capital,
Manila, to document this unprecedented mass wave of
killings. Stephanie Hancock asked him how Human Rights Watch
was able to track the police killing squads.

More than 7,000 people have been killed in Dutertes anti-

drug campaign. What is it like in Manila?

During the daytime things appear relatively normal, and in the

middle class areas youd barely notice this killing campaign. Its
very much focused on the poorest areas. There, the terror is very
real. As soon as night falls, the killings begin. At one point as
many as 35 people were being gunned down in Manila every
night.

How did you and your team work?

We worked from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. investigating the latest killings.

There are always two distinct versions of reality: the police
version, which invariably claims that the suspect fired on the
police, who then killed him in self-defense, and the relatives
version, claiming their family member was killed in cold blood and
that evidence of drugs and guns was planted. Our job was to try
to figure out which version was the reality. We had to be very
careful because with 7,000 already dead, everyone feels like they
could be next.

March 1, 2017 Report

License to Kill
Philippine Police Killings in Dutertes War on Drugs
Download the full report
Download the summary and photo insert
How quickly did you get to crime scenes?

A vast network of people throughout Manila report these killings

as soon as they happen, for example using secure WhatsApp
groups. We had to move fast. We had a brilliant driver whod
served as a bodyguard driver for VIPs, so he knew what he was
doing.

What are these neighborhoods like at night?

The killings start just as people are going to bed. They normally
involve a squad of around eight to 10 armed, masked men in
civilian clothes on motorcycles looking for the person targeted,
and then pulling them out of their homes and executing them.
These are very heavily policed neighborhoods, and its simply
impossible for a group of masked armed men to go around, night
after night, without being picked up by the police. So that really
was our strongest clue that all of these killings are being carried
out by, or in cooperation with, the police.

Philippine police are falsifying evidence to justify unlawful killings

in a war on drugs that has caused more than 7,000 deaths.
What do the police claim is happening?

Police often claim that a drug suspect opened fire on them and
was then killed in a shootout. But we found instead that people
are being executed and framed by the police, who plant guns and
drugs on the bodies. The gunmen wear masks and try to make
sure there are no witnesses, but we met some people who saw
the shooting and planting of evidence. This is an organized,
government-sanctioned campaign of executions of drug suspects.

Duterte only took office nine months ago. Was there any
clue he would endorse such violent policies?

His tough on crime image dates back to his two decades as

mayor of Davao City in Mindanao, when he was a cheerleader for
killing petty criminals, small-time drug dealers, and street children
by the Davao Death Squad. Our research then linked the death
squad to local government officials and the police. When he ran
for president last year, he promised a nationwide anti-drug
campaign, warning voters that tens of thousands of people
would be killed and vowing to make the fish in Manila Bay grow
fat on the victims. He even said he would match Hitler by killing
millions.
Is the Philippines drug problem as bad as Duterte claims?

Duterte insists the Philippines is in the grip of a severe drug crisis,

but the evidence doesnt support that. The most common drug in
the country, especially among the poor, is methamphetamine,
which is known locally as shabu. Meth use is roughly equivalent to
that in the United States. But Duterte has created this myth of a
country descending into a lethal drug crisis and has advocated
mass extrajudicial violence against drug lords as the only
solution to this false crisis. Yet the vast majority of those killed are
very poor urban slum dwellers.

If the drug problem is exaggerated, why are so many

people being killed?

Dutertes populist base applauds the mass killings as reducing

crime. He tries to scare people about drug problems and then
portrays himself as the only solution. Like many populists, hes
built this myth around himself as a champion of the poor, but
actually he comes from a very powerful political dynasty. Many
Filipinos we met told us they had no idea innocent people were
being killed in the anti-drug campaign until their own relative got
killed. The mother of one victim told me: We voted for Duterte,
and now hes declaring war on us hes killing us like chickens.
Many of the 32 victims whose killings we investigated for our
report were occasional methamphetamine users, as it gives them
energy to be able to work long hours. And a few sold drugs to
make ends meet. But women and children have been victims, too.

How do you know police are planting evidence?

In almost all the cases we investigated, the family members

talked to us freely about the victims the bad as well as the good.
But they were adamant the victim didnt have a gun so couldnt
have been armed. Were talking about people so poor they cant
even afford decent meals, let alone buy a gun. In several
instances we got eyewitness accounts about police planting
evidence.

I imagine the city morgues are overflowing?

We went to one morgue and they had about 40 bodies in the

refrigerator. Many Filipinos are very religious and the proper burial
of their relatives is of great importance. But a proper funeral costs
about US$1,000, in a country where many people live on $2 a day.
So many victims eventually are buried in mass graves.

We met one woman who had just managed to get together money
for a funeral after one son was killed. Then her second son was
picked up by police. She was told to pay a bribe to get him out,
but she had no money left. That night her son was found floating
in a local river, shot to death.

Did you tell the government you were coming to the

Philippines to investigate these killings?

Normally we try to be as transparent as possible in our research.

But this was a really high-risk investigation and we felt it was
important to stay off radar. This is also one of few reports where it
was is too dangerous to acknowledge by name all of the
wonderful and courageous people who helped us.

Did you ever fear for your own safety?

Once, we were interviewing a relative of a victim, and she just

froze. A group of motorcycles drove by outside, and she said:
Thats them. We quickly drove away and brought the witness to
a safe area. It was a very close brush with the killing squads
themselves.

Youre used to flying into war zones, so how did being in a

capital city far from any battlefields compare?

Its very bizarre to go from having dinner in a fancy shopping mall

one moment to finding yourself, a few hours later, standing at the
scene of murder after murder all night long. One night, I had
dinner with a close relative who lives in Manila, and then I left to
start my research. Just an hour later, I texted him from the scene
of the first killing of the night saying: Its started. Its really that
kind of contrast.
Posted by Thavam