Three months into President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, more than 3,000 people have died—at least half of whom are said to be victims of extrajudicial killings (EJK).
Human rights advocates, including the United Nations, have denounced the deaths.
At present, a daily average of 30 people—suspected as shabu users and pushers—are added to the “kill list.”
Now the country has been divided between those who believe the deaths are necessary,
and those who invoke the Constitution that guarantees every Filipino citizen the right to due process.
Through the eyes of a teenager, will Duterte’s violent method really solve the
drug problem?
Growing up, we first heard about due process—the basic legal right to be heard in a court of law to protect one’s life, liberty and property—from our parents and teachers.
Alarmingly, due process is being ignored by the brazenness and impunity of the drug war. Suddenly, the principles we hold sacred are being violated by law enforcers themselves.
Though the government’s crackdown on drugs is said to have shown positive results by the number of suspects arrested and killed—supposedly because the suspects fought back—the lives of innocent people have dangerously been put at risk.
“The killings could lead to the collapse of society,” said Elio San Diego, student council president of Lourdes School Quezon City.
Students from different schools are also against these atrocities. A recent survey showed 28 out of 30 (93.3 percent) students are not happy with the way this drug war is being waged.
What Mr. Duterte has made the centerpiece program of his government has weakened the country’s relations with the United Nations and the United States. If the situation deteriorates further, the Philippines stands to be alienated from the rest of the world.
We will cease to be a nation known for its happy people, but rather as a police state that won’t think twice about killing to support a man’s personal quest.
The unabated execution of mere suspects—and worse, individuals with no criminal records at all—is taking its toll on the minds of young people. What would our future be like, if the lives of our loved ones are being taken every single bloody day?
The killings must stop.
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