MANILA, Philippines – The anti-illegal drug campaign under Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is nowhere near “bloodless” as he claimed during his third State of the Nation Address (SONA).

On Monday, July 22, the President said that “our bloodless war on dangerous drugs adheres, and will continue to adhere, to the established ‘8 Es’ of an effective anti-illegal drugs strategy” and that “extermination was never one of them.”

This is inaccurate, at least according to independent monitoring by the Dahas Project of the University of the Philippines’ Third World Studies Center.

There were at least 701 drug-related killings during the first two years of the Marcos administration as of June 30, 2024. Out of this number, 283 or 40.4% were committed by state agents, including the Philippine National Police (PNP).

The total number of drug-related killings under Marcos now stands at 712 as of July 7.

Marcos’ statement during his SONA mirrors his efforts to distance himself from the violence that marked the administration of his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte. The PNP now uses a new circular — the Anti-Illegal Drugs Operation thru Reinforcement and Education (ADORE) — different from Duterte’s Oplan tokhang.

Marcos had said that Duterte’s “focus on enforcement” resulted in “abuses by certain elements in the government.” At least 6,252 people were killed in police operations alone between July 2016 and May 2022, a month before Duterte ended his term, according to government data. Human rights groups estimate the number to reach between 27,000 and 30,000 to include those killed vigilante-style.

Only a handful of cases have led to conviction. A Rappler investigation found that the much touted reinvestigation of 52 cases had dismal results, with at least 32 being closed without the filing of a criminal complaint.

There is not much difference under the Marcos administration. Drug war victims’ families pin their hopes on the International Criminal Court (ICC), whose Office of the Prosecutor is currently investigating Duterte’s drug war.

The ICC’s appeals chamber in June 2023 rejected the Philippine government’s appeal, paving the way for ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan’s next move, including possibly the request for an arrest warrant or summons.

The Marcos administration, however, continues to be publicly indecisive in its stance on cooperating with the ICC. But all eyes are on how the resignation of Vice President Sara Duterte from the Marcos Cabinet — the end of their Uniteam — will translate to accountability over Duterte’s drug war killings. – Rappler.com