Official figure on fatality count in drug war 3,987

By Arjay L. Balinbin

THE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and other agencies, in a press briefing at Malacañang on Monday, Jan. 22, reported that there were “only 3,987” killed in the government’s antidrug campaign.

This figure stands in sharp contrast to a recent report by Human Rights Watch claiming about 12,000 suspected drug personalities were killed in President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s drug war.

Joining PDEA at Monday’s press briefing were the Philippine National Police (PNP), Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), and Department of Justice (DoJ) as they presented the latest #RealNumbersPh data on the government’s war on drugs.

PNP spokesman Chief Supt. Dionardo B. Carlos explained that out of 19,568 deaths from July 1, 2016 to Jan. 17, 2018, the rest are “homicide cases” that are of “different motives” or not related to the anti-drug campaign.

“The rest are crimes o krimen na nangyayari sa ating mga lansangan. Iba’t-ibang motibo at ang nakikita po natin dito ay ang pinakamalaki po dito ay personal grudge o heated argument, iyong pag-aaway na nauuwi sa pagkamatay ng isang biktima. Ang isa naman pong dahilan, the top three that we see ay iyon pong personal gain, meron po siyang gustong kunin o meron siyang gustong makuha after that incident kung saan nagkakaroon po ng pagpatay sa isang nagiging biktima.”

(The rest are crimes that took place on the streets with different motives. What we see here is that the dominant one is personal grudge or heated argument which led to killing. Another motive is ‘personal gain,’ when one intends to get something after killing the victim.)

Last December, PDEA reported there were only two drug suspects killed in the agency’s almost 3,000 anti-illegal drug operations since it started leading the campaign in October.

For his part, PDEA Spokesperson Derrick Arnold Carreon explained that one factor that led to the notably small number of deaths is the “presence of media during operations,” as “ordered by Director General Aaron N. Aquino.”

“In fact, now, we are moving into inviting prosecutors and to wear body cameras as well, not only our (agents) but also the media and the prosecutors who will be invited in order to make our operations more transparent, and I believe the same move is also being done with our counterparts in the PNP now with resumption of their operations,” Mr. Carreon added.

PDEA also reported yesterday that Mr. Duterte’s anti-drug campaign has led to 81,919 anti-drug police operations and 199,361 arrested drug personalities.

Mr. Carreon said the figures are based on “the consolidated data from the PNP, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Bureau of Customs (BoC), and the PDEA.”

The agency also reported that it has “confiscated 2,577.05 kilograms of methamphetamine or shabu, with a street value of P13.24 billion, and an increase of P114.16 million from the previous period last month.”