The Philippines is in the midst of a spectacularly brutal war on drugs. The man behind it is the President Rodrigo Duterte, who took office June 30.
In Duterte’s first seven weeks on the job, more than 1,800 people were killed by police or vigilante death squads. By one estimate that figure has climbed to nearly 4,000 through mid-October.
Those being killed aren’t just suspected drug traffickers. They’re also ordinary drug users, street children and sometimes people who are just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
On this edition of Global Journalist, a look at the bloodshed and the reasons for Duterte's high approval ratings.
Joining the program:
- John Paolo Bencito, a reporter at the Manila Standard.
- Phelim Kine, deputy director of the Asia region at Human Rights Watch.
- Jayeel Serrano Cornelio, a sociologist and director of development studies at Ateneo de Manila University.
- Sanho Tree, director of the Drug Policy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies.
Note: This program is audio-only.