Various groups urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ahead of his inauguration to undo his predecessor’s brutal campaign against illegal drugs. He was silent on the issue during his speech, however.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs killed innocent victims including children, leaving their families devastated emotionally and oftentimes financially.
The government reported at least 6,252 deaths at the hands of police during anti-illegal drug operations between July 2016 and May 31, 2022. But human-rights groups believe that the actual number could reach as high as 30,000 including victims of vigilante-style killings.
During the campaign, Marcos said he will continue Duterte’s campaign “but in a different way.”
“We have seen that the drug war has been conducted purely on enforcement side. I think we should also focus on the prevention side,” Marcos in an interview with CNN Philippines in October 2021. He spoke of rehauling rehabilitation centers and employing modern techniques to help patients.
READ: The Desaparecidos of Duterte’s Drug War and Drug war victims are exhumed and cremated as grave leases expire. One mother wants another way)
Marcos will need to break the cycle of impunity in human rights violations. The killings need to stop — not just of drug war victims, but also activists, journalists, and the leftists. He will need to send a strong signal that the violence unleashed by Duterte will no longer be tolerated.
Marcos also needs to restore the rule of law and press freedom.
Carlos Conde, senior researcher at the Human Rights Watch, said Marcos can start by empowering the Commission on Human Rights and “put in place a structure or some system to make sure that accountability will happen at some point.”
Marcos was also urged to rejoin the International Criminal Court (ICC) and resume engagements with the European Union, the United States Government, the UN Human Rights Council, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
He was urged to cooperate with the ICC especially in the wake of Prosecutor Karim Khan request before the pre-trial chamber (PTC) to allow the resumption of investigations into Duterte’s war on drugs.
The probe was deferred upon the request of the Philippine government, but the new request means that Khan was not satisfied with investigations carried out by Philippine authorities. END