Duterte’s Government Reported 20,000 Dead In Drug War, Senator Calls Killings ‘Executions’

The Philippine government reported that more than 20,000 people have been killed since President Rodrigo Duterte was elected, and an opposition Senator accused the government of “state-sponsored executions”

Philippine Sen. Antonio Trillanes called criticized the government before the Senate Wednesday.

“[Duterte] flaunts as an accomplishment the killing of people he despises,” said Trillanes. “They basically admitted that there are no so-called vigilante killings — that these deaths are actually state-sponsored executions.”

In December the government touted that since Duterte took office in mid-2016, 3,967 “drug personalities” have died in anti-drug operations and that there are another 16,355 homicides under investigation.

The government reported that in Duterte’s time in office there have been 118,287 arrests and more than 1.3 million people have surrendered to the authorities.

Trillanes said that report indicates that Duterte’s war on drugs is responsible for the deaths.

“Therefore, all of these deaths are drug-related and not for other causes. That is clear,” Trillanes said. “While the country continues to laugh at the lewd jokes of Duterte, more than 20,000 of our countrymen have been killed.”

The government has maintained that all the deaths have happened in legitimate anti-drug operations. Trillanes, a veteran, said the deaths are not justified.

Human Rights Watch representative Carlos Conde told Al Jazeera that the killing point to a need for an international investigation.

“This only underscores the need for a United Nations-led investigation that we have been demanding,” said Conde. “We need to get to the bottom of this, how many people were exactly killed, who are the perpetrators? It is about time that we have a proper accounting of the deaths.”

Last week the U.S. Intelligence community raised concerns about Duterte and his war on drugs in their World Threat Assessment, and earlier this month the International Criminal Court said it would begin an investigation into whether the country committed crimes against humanity.