Nothing bloodless about Marcos Jr’s drug war

As Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr enters his third year in office, the country’s infamous “war on drugs” shows no sign of ending.

The extrajudicial killings have continued despite several promises from the president and his administration, including a 2022 election promise that he would take a more holistic approach to the drug war.

At the time, Marcos Jr promised a “different way”, with a focus on prevention, rehabilitation and education through the Buhay Ingatan program. The aim was to save, not take, lives.

In April, the new Philippine police chief, Major General Rommel Francisco Marbil, promised a similar approach, telling media “there is no need for a drug war” and that police should “always follow the rule of law” when it comes to tackling illicit drugs.

This raised hopes that Marcos Jr was finally looking to end drug war-related killings. Such an approach would have marked a sharp break with former president Rodrigo Duterte, who unleashed a wave of violence that killed thousands of Filipinos between 2016 and 2022.

At the time, Duterte called for the “slaughter” of drug sellers and users and offered to pay the legal fees of any police officer accused of extrajudicial killings. Human rights groups claim the death toll is much higher than official estimates, which they claim may be as high as 30,000 people. Many Filipinos saw the election of Marcos Jr as a fresh start.

But areport from the University of the Philippines Dahas Project has revealed Filipinos continue to be killed in anti-drug operations. Between July 2023 and June 2024, Dahas reports 359 people were killed, more than the 342 recorded killings the year before.

The government has promised to go after big fish, but most victims have been