Dispatches: Philippines’ ‘war on drugs’ worsens jail miseries

By Phelim Kine

It’s an image straight out of Dante’s “Purgatory”: hundreds of half-naked men sprawled on the pavement in the sweltering heat, desperately trying to sleep amid the cramped chaos. But this is no etching of a medieval horror scene. It’s an actual snapshot of horrific overcrowding in the Philippines’ jails and detention centers fueled by the government’s war on drugs.

It’s creating serious health and safety risksfor detainees.

Police statistics indicate more than 125,000suspected drug dealers and users have surrendered to authorities since President Rodrigo Duterte’s May 10 electoral victory. An estimated 10,000 alleged drug dealers and drug users surrendered in Pampanga province on July 21 alone. The motivations of those who surrender are clear, say authorities: Fear of Duterte’s “war on drugs,” which is linked to hundreds of police killings of suspected drug dealers and users as well as summary murders by unidentified vigilante-style killers.

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Thumbnail : Flickr CC Prachatai