On 27 May 2020, advocacy group Human Rights Watch released its latest report highlighting the “lasting harm to children” from the ongoing “war on drugs” in the Philippines.
The 48-page report titled “Our Happy Family Is Gone: Impact of the ‘War on Drugs’ on Children in the Philippines” details first-hand accounts of traumatic experiences endured by children who have lost their parents, and have often witnessed killings. The group’s researcher Carlos Conde believes that there is a real need for the government “to stop this endless violence that is upending children's lives and direct assistance to the children harmed."
WHAT IS THE “WAR ON DRUGS”?
On 30 June 2016, the Philippine President, Rodrigo Duterte, was sworn into office. He introduced a policy to tackle drug abuse in the country by giving police wide ranging powers to kill any suspected drug addicts or dealers. This policy has been extended until 2022. Almost four years on, this “war on drugs” has led to over 12,000 deaths, with at least 2,555 of the killings attributable to the Philippine National Police. Recent statistics produced by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency show that 5,601 drug suspects have died during police anti-drug operations from 1 July 2016 to 31 January 2020.
Whilst the President defends his anti-drug policy on the basis that he believes there must be eradication of the extensive illegal drugs trade in the Philippines, Amnesty International has called this policy a “large-scale murdering enterprise.”
WHAT IS THE IMPACT ON FILIPINO CHILDREN?
Many children have suffered severe psychological and emotional trauma as a result of witnessing their parents or guardians being killed. The long-term effects are likely to scar Filipino’s next generation. As highlighted in Human Rights Watch’s video, Jennifer said she ”stopped eating”, “became distressed”, and was “bullied in school after police killed her father in Quezon City in 2016.” Moreover, thousands of children have lost their right to a childhood and have had to grow up rapidly to become the new family breadwinners. In another example, Robert said that after his father’s death he “stopped going to school” and “worked at the barangay … as a garbage collector” to support his family. There is also the increased risk of children becoming homeless as a result of the killings.
There is currently little support from the government for the children left behind by such killings, and their needs are being neglected. Although the Department of Social Welfare and Development provides some assistance, such as burial expenses, there are no outreach campaigns for these families and their children. Broken families often have to rely on food donations and support from churches and civil society groups.
INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
In February 2018, the International Criminal Court opened preliminary examinations into complaints filed against President Rodrigo Duterte, but this prompted the Philippine government to withdraw from court.
In July 2019, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution requesting the Office of the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights to submit a comprehensive report about the human rights situations in the country. The next session of the Human Rights Council begins this month in Geneva.
Ploy is currently a paralegal in London. She has an LLB from Swansea University and an LLM LPC from BPP University in Cambridge. She is interested in promoting human rights injustices and bringing them into the public domain, with a particular focus on children due to their vulnerable status.