On June 18, 2021, a 16-year-old boy named Johndy Maglinte was shot during an anti-drug operation in Biñan City, Laguna. Johndy was shot in broad daylight, at 4:30 in the afternoon. His live-in partner, also a minor, allegedly witnessed the incident.
There are, of course, two versions of the incident that led to Johndy’s death.
According to his live-in partner, Johndy was handcuffed, taken out of their home, and dragged into a muddy area nearby by the police, submerging his face in the mud, as if drowning him, before shooting him.
On June 18, 2021, a 16-year-old boy named Johndy Maglinte was shot during an anti-drug operation in Binan, City Laguna. Johndy was shot in broad daylight, at 4:30 in the afternoon. His live-in partner, also a minor, allegedly witnessed the incident.
There are, of course, two versions to the incident that led to Johndy’s death.
According to his live-in partner, Johndy was handcuffed, taken out of their home, and dragged into a muddy area nearby by the police, submerging his face in the mud, as if drowning him, before shooting him.
Official records of the Calabarzon Philippine National Police said Johndy and his companion, Antonio Dalit, were killed after exchanging shot with the cops.
Johndy’s live-in partner and mother asked: “How could Johndy have engaged in a gunfight when he didn’t even own a gun?”
Incidents like this — the deaths of over tens of thousands — have become commonplace since President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office in 2016 and began his “war on drugs.” The policy is part of Duterte’s campaign when he ran as president in the 2016 national elections.
It was the anchor of his anti-crime campaign, with the promise that the Philippines’ crime problem will be solved once he eliminates the illegal drug trade in the country. This came with a precedent: Duterte faced allegations that he was behind extra-judicial killings committed in Davao City, where he served as mayor for two decades.
Crime rate in Davao City went down during his term, but it came with a price. From 1998 to 2008, more than 1,000 people died or disappeared in the city. These deaths were attributed to vigilante groups that human rights groups said Duterte encouraged.
“The funeral parlors will be packed. I will supply the dead bodies,” he said in a March 2016 speech.
Duterte was sworn in as president on June 30, 2016.
On Duterte’s first day in office, 39 people were killed in drug-related killings.
By August 23, 2016, 1,916 Filipinos had died in relation to police anti-drug operations and vigilante killings, according to the Human Rights Watch. Then-newly installed Philippine National Police chief Ronald Dela Rosa said the official figures were slightly lower than that, with 700 drug criminals and traffickers killed in official operations.
These anti-drug operations are part of the national police’s “Oplan Double Barrel,” a program meant to “neutralize” drug criminals and syndicates. The campaign includes “Oplan Tokhang,” a program that saw cops go to the homes of suspected drug criminals, mostly without a warrant, to allegedly invite them to the barangay hall or the police station for questioning.
Reports that came out later that year said, based on eyewitness testimonies and evidence, that police were summarily gunning down suspected drug criminals when they conducted their anti-drug operations.
1,916 Filipinos died in less than three months—an average of 60 people every day since Duterte became president.
The increase in drug-related deaths raised the alarms of many sectors. But the “war on drugs” continued, nonetheless.
The Senate did a probe on the spate of extrajudicial killings in the first few months of Duterte’s presidency; the probe’s chairman, Richard Gordon, said in October 2016 that Duterte was not responsible for unlawful killings.
In turn, Duterte threatened groups that wanted to investigate the killings. He threatened to pull the Philippines out of the United Nations after the organization urged the country to take steps to stop the killings of the suspected drug crime offenders.
In November 2016, Duterte threatened to kill human rights advocates who will probe the killings. Reuters, in a review of 43 drug related shootings, reported in December 2016 that police were targeting and killing suspected drug criminals during the Oplan Tokhang operations.
While small-time drug traffickers are targeted in these operations, big-time drug syndicates remained free and almost unscathed.
“If you are poor, you are killed,” a family member of a slain drug suspect told Amnesty International.
While small-time drug traffickers are targeted in these operations, big-time drug syndicates remain free and almost unscathed.
“If you are poor, you are killed,” a family member of a slain drug suspect told Amnesty International.
There is a huge disparity between the death poll cited by human rights groups — groups who have contact with the communities that have been affected by the “war on drugs” — and the official numbers given by the national police and other government offices.
Based on the figures in the #RealNumbersPH campaign of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, 5,924 drug suspects had died in police operations as of October 31, 2020.
That number is higher if you ask the Philippine National Police: 6,600 drug suspects killed, as of May 31, 2019.
But according to the figures released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in June 2020, 8,663 Filipinos died in drug-related deaths in the Philippines since the Duterte administration began its anti-drug campaign.
In 2018, Commission on Human Rights chairperson Chito Gascon said the death count could actually be as high as 27,000.
Regardless of the official number, what’s clear here is the lives that have been needlessly taken because of the “war on drugs.”
Methodology: PCIJ collected nearly 2,000 names and addresses of drug casualties in Metro Manila. Then they showed their data with DSWD and asked to match the names they collected with those of families who are in the department’s 4Ps database. To validate data, they visited the homes of the victims’ families and request to show their 4Ps IDs.
There is a huge disparity between the death poll cited by human rights groups—groups who have contact with the communities that have been affected by the War on Drugs—and the official numbers given by the national police and other government offices.
Based on the figures in the #RealNumbersPH campaign of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, 5,924 drug suspects had died in police operations as of October 31, 2020.
That number is higher if you ask the Philippine National Police: 6,600 drug suspects killed, as of May 31, 2019.
But according to the figures released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in June 2020, 8,663 Filipinos died in drug-related deaths in the Philippines since the Duterte administration began its anti-drug campaign.
In 2018, Commission on Human Rights chairperson Chito Gascon said the death count could actually be as high as 27,000.
Regardless of the official number, what’s clear here is the lives that have been needlessly taken because of the War on Drugs.
Methodology – PCIJ collected nearly 2,000 names and addresses of drug casualties in Metro Manila. Showed their data with DSWD and asked to match the names they collected with those of families who are in the department’s 4Ps database. To validate data, they visited the homes of the victims’ families and request to show their 4Ps IDs.
What is clear is how the “war on drugs” has failed due to the administration’s punitive approach, seeing the problem that Duterte described as a “drug crisis” as one that can only be solved through punishment and violence.
But the Philippines isn’t the only country to have tried — and have failed at — this method of solving the drug problem. Countries like the United States and Mexico heavily punished drug crime offenders, which only resulted in the prosecution of minorities and impoverished communities.
The unnecessary deaths of thousands in the Philippines due to the “war on drugs” did not lead to any real solution.
To achieve real change, the Philippines needs to solve the drug problem using Harm Reduction — a system that focuses on humane approaches in addressing the drug issue.
Looking at the numbers and the data, it is easy to see where the growing consensus that the “war on drugs” has failed is coming from.
The government’s relentless anti-drug campaign has not resulted in the eradication of crime and drug use in the country. In an interview with Reuters in 2019, Philippine National Drug Enforcement Group acting director Romeo Caramat said the drug supply in the country remains “rampant.”
Looking at the numbers and the data, it is easy to see where the growing consensus that the War on Drugs has failed is coming from.
The government’s relentless anti-drug campaign has not resulted in the eradication of crime and drug use in the country. In an interview with Reuters in 2019, Philippine National Drug Enforcement Group acting director Romeo Caramat said that the drug supply in the country remains “rampant.”
In many of his speeches, Duterte admitted that the crime problem in the Philippines is worsening. This, even though anti-drug operations and the killings continued unabated amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Human Rights Watch, 155 people were killed from April to July 2020 — the first few months of lockdown in the country — as a result of these operations.
The “war on drugs” has left an indelible mark in the Philippines: its detrimental effect on human rights.
The Philippines’ anti-drug campaign normalized violence. Many Filipinos have become used to the news and sight of dead bodies lying on the streets. The disregard of due process, especially for suspected drug criminals, has become rampant.
Slowly, the “war on drugs” is instilling in the Filipino consciousness that addicts and drug users are less than human and do not deserve to be treated humanely. Of course, this cannot be farther from the truth. The disregard for the humane treatment of drug users and criminals also creates a different set of victims of the “war on drugs”: the families that are left behind due to the needless violence employed by the government to slow the drug crisis.
It has left many orphans and single parents — many of whom saw their loved ones die — displaced, left without livelihood and safety. Police officers were also killed in the line of duty.
But perhaps one of the biggest tragedies of the “war on drugs” is the death of children and minors, both as targets and “collateral damage” of the anti-drug campaign.
Myca Ulpina was one of the youngest victims of Duterte’s “war on drugs.” She died on June 30, 2019, with the police saying she was caught in a crossfire between suspected drug criminals and police officers.
She was three years old.
The buy-bust operation targeted Myca’s father, Renato Ulpina, and other alleged cohorts. According to Senior Master Sgt. Conrad Cabigao, he went undercover to buy methamphetamine — locally known as shabu — from Renato, who allegedly fought back after realizing the purchase was a sting operation.
Cabigao said Renato used Myca as a “human shield” during the gunfight. On the other hand, Myca’s mother said it was not a buy-bust operation but murder. She said the cops entered their home while they were asleep, shooting both the defenseless Renato and Myca.
Renato died on the spot. Myca was shot by police on the head, hand, and foot. She died the next day.
Myca Ulpina was one of the youngest victims of Duterte’s war on drugs. She died on June 30, 2019, with the police saying she was caught in a crossfire between suspected drug criminals and police officers.
She was three years old.
The buy-bust operation targeted Myca’s father Renato Ulpina and other alleged cohorts. According to Senior Master Sgt. Conrad Cabigao, he went undercover to buy methamphetamine—locally known as shabu—from Renato, who allegedly fought back after realizing the purchase was a sting operation.
Cabigao said Renato used Myca as a “human shield” during the gunfight. Myca’s mother said what was not a buy-bust operation but murder. She said the cops entered homes while they were asleep, shooting both the defenseless Renato and Myca.
Renato died on the spot. Myca was shot by police on the head, hand, and foot. She died the next day.
Joshua Laxamana was killed in an alleged shootout with the police in Pangasinan on August 17, 2018.
According to reports, he was on his way home on a motorcycle with a friend after playing an online gaming tournament in Baguio City. He allegedly tried to dodge a mandatory police checkpoint in Pangasinan, initiating a gunfight with the cops.
Police said Joshua ignored the police checkpoint because he was a wanted member of an Akyat Bahay gang, accusing him of four burglaries in Pangasinan. Illegal drugs and a .45 caliber pistol were reportedly found on the motorcycle he was riding.
The police said the tattoo on Joshua’s forearm is a “mark of a notorious burglar.”
Joshua’s mother, Christine Pascual, refuted the allegations. She said Joshua could not drive a motorcycle, let alone afford one. He was focused as an e-sports gamer, she said, making it hard for her to believe she was involved in a burglary gang. The “mark of a burglar” on Joshua’s forearm was later confirmed by an e-sports journal to be a tattoo of a character in the online game he played.
Joshua’s friend, Julian Sebastian, who was 15 years old when the incident happened, is still missing.
Joshua Laxamana was killed in an alleged shootout with the police in Pangasinan on August 17, 2018.
According to reports, he was on his way home on a motorcycle with a friend after playing an online gaming tournament in Baguio City. He allegedly tried to dodge a mandatory police checkpoint in Pangasinan, initiating a gunfight with the cops.
Police said Joshua ignored the police checkpoint because he was a wanted member of an Akyat Bahay gang, accusing him of four burglaries in Pangasinan. Illegal drugs and a .45 caliber pistol were reportedly found on the motorcycle he was riding.
The police said the tattoo on Joshua’s forearm is a “mark of a notorious burglar.”
Joshua’s mother, Christine Pascual, refuted the allegations. She said Joshua could not drive a motorcycle, let alone afford one. He was focused as an esports gamer, she said, making it hard for her to believe she was involved in a burglary gang. The “mark of a burglar” on Joshua’s forearm was later confirmed by an esports journal to be a tattoo of a character in the online game he played.
Joshua’s friend Julian Sebastian, who was 15 years old when the incident happened, is still missing.
The killings do not discriminate.
Filipinos as young as one year have been killed while caught between confrontations with police or as targets of vigilantes.
As of June 2020, at least 122 children died during Duterte’s “war on drugs,” according to the World Organization Against Torture — whether deliberately, as proxies or replacement of targets that could be found, or due to stray bullets.
The killings do not discriminate.
Filipinos as young as one year have been killed while caught between confrontations with police or as targets of vigilantes.
As of June 2020, at least 122 children died during Duterte’s war on drug, according to the World Organization Against Torture—whether deliberately, as proxies or replacement of targets that could be found, or due to stray bullets.
Anyone lucky enough to be on the wrong side of these operations can find themselves dead.
What is left in the wake of these killings are families struggling to cope with the violent loss of their loved ones; children left parentless, forced to fend for themselves; single parents at a loss on how to support their sons and daughters.
Let us remember those who have died because of the “war on drugs” and those they have left behind.
Let us build the people’s narratives on the War on Drugs. If you want to collaborate in expanding this page, email us at support@stopthekillings.ph
We are a safe space for learning. We are home to different information and stories, gathered from credible sources, about harm reduction.
We are stronger and louder as a community. Contribute your voice and stories here. Help amplify the call to stop the killings.
We are listening. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. Leave a message and we’ll get in touch with you.
We are a safe space for learning. We are home to different information and stories, gathered from credible sources, about harm reduction.
We are stronger and louder as a community. Contribute your voice and stories here. Help amplify the call to stop the killings.
We are listening. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. Leave a message and we’ll get in touch with you.
#StopTheKillingsPH #EndImpunity #NotoEJK #StartTheHealing
#StopTheKillingsPH #EndImpunity #NotoEJK #StartTheHealing
Stop the Killings PH is a call to action advocating for harm reduction policies, amplifying demand for accountability, and humanize the stories of the victims affected by the “war on drugs.”
Stop the Killings PH is a call to action advocating for harm reduction policies, amplifying demand for accountability, and humanize the stories of the victims affected by the “war on drugs.”