Government kills 287 drug suspects during quarantine

MANILA, Philippines — A total of 287 drug suspects were killed in alleged shootouts with lawmen during the community quarantine.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), citing data from the government’s Real NumbersPH platform, said yesterday 31,096 alleged drug pushers and users were arrested since March when the government imposed lockdown measures to halt the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19.

At least 5,942 drug suspects were killed and 266,126 arrested in 183,525 operations since President Duterte launched his controversial war on illegal drugs in 2016.

The death toll is still lower compared to at least 7,987 fatalities documented by the Philippine National Police (PNP) in its own anti-drug operations, which undergoes validation by the PDEA before getting included in its the anti-drug agency’s data.

At least 362 elected officials, 445 government employees and 102 uniformed personnel were among the 10,721 high-value targets in the illegal drug trade arrested by lawmen. Also apprehended were 287 foreigners and 751 leaders and members of drug syndicates.

A total of 11,392.71 kilos of shabu, cocaine, and marijuana and 83,403 ecstasy tablets worth P56.26 billion were seized across the country.

The PDEA said 3,418 minors aged four to 17 allegedly involved in illegal drugs were rescued and transferred to social welfare and development offices for rehabilitation.

At least 20,538 barangays have been cleared of illegal drugs, the PDEA said.