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Dateline : Getting Away With Murder?

In the Philippines, thousands of drug users and drug dealers have been killed since the election of President Rodrigo Duterte
In the Philippines, thousands of drug users and drug dealers have been killed since the election of President Rodrigo Duterte Source: SBS

What Philippines President's tough justice really looks like and talks to assassins who say they work for the police, as well as the families of their victims.


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By Stellar Kim

Source: SBS



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What Philippines President's tough justice really looks like and talks to assassins who say they work for the police, as well as the families of their victims.


The government claims more than 700,000 drug users and pushers have surrendered since the drug war began. Many of those are being sent to prison, and thats creating another crisis.

 

Quezon City Jails official capacity is 800 inmates, but at the moment there are more than 4,000 in the complex, 61 per cent of them there on drug charges. There are more than 100 men packed in to each cell, with many sleeping in shifts, due to the lack of available bedding and space.

 

When it rains, inmates sleep on buckets or on the stairs, to avoid the wet floors.

 

President Duterte has shown no signs of backing down from his ruthless stance on drugs, and has responded aggressively to criticism of his government. Some polls suggest his drug war has overwhelming support from Filipinos.

 

But as the body count rises, will the Philippines take a less violent approach to its drug crackdown, or will the killing continue?


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