These are the names of men, women, and children who died because of the “war on drugs.” Most of them were merely alleged or suspected drug criminals, killed during government-sanctioned buy-bust operations or by unknown hitmen.

Many of those who were killed allegedly resisted arrest or police questioning — known now as “nanlaban.” Some were killed during the serving of search warrants or after an invitation for drugs test. Other killings were cases of mistaken identity, of bystanders or families of alleged drug criminals being at the wrong place at the wrong time. The government has called these accidental killings “collateral damage.” Reports say a number of suspected drug criminals who surrendered to authorities were also killed, found in far-flung areas or in the middle of busy streets with cardboard signs attached to their bodies saying, “I’m a drug pusher” or “This is a drug addict; do not emulate.”

Compiled by Sara Isabelle Pacia, NewsLab, and Almi Atienza, Inquirer Research

Source: Inquirer Archives