How Duterte's Deadly War on Drugs Is Working Out: QuickTake Q&A

Since taking office in June 2016, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has staged a deadly war on drugs. The European Union and the United Nations have condemned the brutal crackdown, which has resulted in thousands of deaths, many by vigilante groups. The reaction at home, so far at least, has been less critical, even largely supportive, while a senator who led a backlash has ended up in jail. Human rights groups say the anti-drug offensives have mostly targeted the urban poor and could amount to crimes against humanity.

More than 7,000, according to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. The government says that’s an exaggeration, with official accounts showing 3,100 fatalities at the hands of police from July 1, 2016, to June 6, 2017. Police earlier blamed about 1,400 more drug-related deaths on vigilante groups. Either way, Duterte in less than a year has brought about more loss of life than President Ferdinand Marcos did during his eight years of martial rule through 1981. Then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s war on drugs in Thailand in the early 2000s resulted in more than 2,500 deaths.