PCOO launches sequel to drug war documentary ‘Gramo’

MANILA, Philippines — The government’s lead communication arm yesterday launched another documentary defending the administration’s war on drugs, as the controversial campaign faces fresh criticism from international groups.

The Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) said it created Gramo Dos: Unipormado to highlight the risks that law enforcers face as they combat the drug menace.

“As the problem of illegal drugs remains significant, even during a pandemic, we at the PCOO will continue to intensify our information dissemination against it,” PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar said in a statement.

Citing police data, PCOO said 52 policemen were killed and 153 others were wounded in drug-related operations from July 1, 2016 to June 23, 2020.

The 40-minute presentation is the sequel to the 2019 documentary Gramo, which highlighted the achievements of, and challenges faced by the government’s anti-narcotics crackdown.

Gramo Dos featured the perspectives of three police personnel at the frontlines of the campaign, which has so far left more than 6,000 drug suspects dead based on official figures.

The documentary was released days after some members of the international community sounded the alarm anew about the killings tied to the drug war.

Watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) has claimed that the atrocities in the campaign have worsened as the police have killed 50 percent more people between April to July 2020 than they did in the previous four-month period. The PCOO has described HRW’s claims as “gross distortions of the situation in the Philippines.” – Delon Porcalla, Helen Flores