Overemphasis on a single aspect of the Philippines’ war on drugs – the death toll – clouds international perceptions of President Rodrigo Duterte’s signature campaign. Less publicised by the media is the health dimension of the campaign. Five months after commencing the crackdown, the government opened the country’s biggest drug rehabilitation facility. By the end of 2018, three more regional rehabilitation centres had been built, with plans to construct more. Developing and running effective rehabilitation programmes also present opportunities to work with local and international partners.
Duterte framed his drug war as an existential challenge – a fight to preserve peace and order and a crusade to save the country’s youth. “If you destroy the youth of my land, I will kill you” has been a recurring threat in his pronouncements on the subject. Since his time as mayor of Davao, Duterte’s campaign against crime and the illegal drug trade has been unrelenting, catapulting him to national prominence.
However, for all the hype that it has attracted, Duterte’s attitude to drugs is no regional exception. Many of the country’s neighbours, including China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, have waged crackdowns to eradicate drugs and impose the death penalty for drug-related crimes.
Duterte’s concerns are not unfounded. With porous maritime borders, the presence of non-state armed groups, collusion of corrupt officials and a climate conducive to the cultivation of opium, the country runs the risk of sliding into a narco-state. The drug trade sustains the proliferation of rebel, terrorist and criminal outfits. The Philippines is also located near the Golden Triangle, the area where the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet and where a substantial global supply of opium is sourced.
Rights groups have long contested official drug war death figures, accusing the police of engaging in extrajudicial killings, of condoning vigilante-style attacks and deliberately targeting poor, small-time drug peddlers. Concerns about collateral damage and the slow progress of cases against police officers suspected of abuses have also been raised.