A bloodbath and the end of due process

The Philippines’ war on drugs has gotten out of hand, and the death toll will continue to rise.

• Duterte calls for all drug dealers to be put “behind bars or below ground”

• 300 have been killed in July alone

• In one of the most deadly incidents, on Saturday, police killed 8 in just one morning

• 60,000 people dependent on drugs have surrendered to the state

President Duterte believes drugs are “drowning the country” and is stopping at nothing rid the Philippines of drugs–and drug dealers. During his election campaign, he declared that 100,000 people would be killed in this war on drugs, and that the fish in the Manila Bay would grow fat from feeding on the bodies that would be dumped there. No wonder he is called The Punisher.

Photographs have emerged showing drug dealers’ bodies filling the streets, covered in blood.

These graphic images show just how ruthless the police killings truly are. Some men are bound at their hands and ankles, and their faces are covered in tape.

Drug dealers and addicts have been surrendering at police stations and rehab centers in such large numbers that the authorities are unable to cope, but this is a good problem to have. Hopefully this mass influx and its effects on the rehabilitation system can change the country’s mind set in the long term, from one of drugs as law-and-order issue to one of drugs as a social issue.

These images below show some of the 60,000 people who surrendered to authorities, and some of the drug dealers killed. One man is shown dead with a sign that says he is a drug pusher.

A Nation Without Judges

These drug dealers are being gunned down in the street without a fair trial, which is drawing a lot of attention from human rights lawyers.

Some lawmakers in the country say there should be a congressional investigation into the killings. But, Solicitor General Jose Calida said he would protect police from any investigations. In spite of all of the criticism, he still claims that the killings are legal.

Jose Diokno, one of the best human rights lawyers in the Philippines, said the situation is “spiraling out of control and creating a nation without judges.”

Photo Credit: Wikimedia