MANILA – Close to 5,000 people were killed in President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, government data released on Wednesday showed.
A total of 4,948 drug personalities were slain in 110,395 operations from July 1, 2016 to September 2018, data showed.
Ninety-four were killed in September this year alone, contributing to the uptick of count from 4,354 in June.
Meanwhile 158,424 drug personalities and 582 government workers were arrested antidrug operations, government data further showed.
There were 286 law enforcement agency personnel dismissed from service for drug use and 105 for other drug-related offenses.
In addition P25.01 billion worth of illegal drugs and laboratory equipment were seized during all the conducted operations.
Shabu confiscated from smuggling reached 1,076.01 kilos while 410.07 kilos were seized from manufacturing, government data showed.
Moreover 255 drug dens and clandestine laboratories were destroyed, and 8,766 barangays across the country were cleared from drugs.
The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism and the Human Rights Watch criticize government numbers dubbed “#RealNumbersPH” as too low.
But the government insists on the veracity of the #RealNumbersPH count. The Philippine National Police also denied intentionally lowering the number of drug deaths./PN
