MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte recently admitted he cannot fulfill his promise to stamp out illegal drugs, which he first pledged to do within his first three months from assuming office, then six months, but now says he won’t be able to accomplish within his term.
Yet he has also vowed to pursue the deadly campaign until the end of his presidency.
So, what’s up with the war on drugs? Here is a News5 update based on the latest statistics from the Philippine Information Agency:
NOTE: The death toll no longer includes what authorities call “deaths under investigation” — the drive-by shootings and vigilante-style executions they once touted as proof of the drug war’s success and which Duterte, in earlier pronouncements, appeared to encourage. Various counts that include these deaths estimate the lives lost at more than 12,000 and rising after a year.
