The death toll from Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's war against drugs continues to mount. While the campaign — or at least the president — enjoys public support, there are growing signs of concern and unease, with prominent members of the Roman Catholic Church denouncing the policy. It is too early to say if this is the beginning of a more significant break with the president or an isolated incident, but this policy of murder and lawlessness — by state authorities — must be condemned.
Duterte put the war against drugs front and center during his campaign for president last year and he wasted no time in putting that policy into effect after he won that election. He warned drug users and suppliers that they put their life at risk by continuing and declared open season on any person involved in or even suspected of involvement in the drug trade. Reportedly, there are bounties for bodies brought in — not for people captured alive — and "lists" of traffickers and associates tends to align quite conveniently with those of the president's critics and detractors.
Human rights groups charge that more than 12,000 people have been killed since the campaign began a little over a year ago. Authorities say that a little less than a third of them — about 3,500 people — were shot by police acting in self-defense. The human rights groups argue that the remainder of the dead have been killed by vigilantes and death squads operating with a wink and a nod from the police, and in some cases are the police in disguise.