I’ve come to the Philippines in south-east Asia to investigate the world’s bloodiest war on drugs. I’ve joined the night shift with some local journalists in the capital Manila. Livvy Haydock, Deadliest Place to Deal, BBC 2017
This time it’s a homeless drug user who’s been shot dead. ibid.
In the past eight months over seven thousand people have been killed in the Philippines. ibid.
‘My campaign against drugs will not stop.’ ibid. president
Drug users and pushers were given an ultimatum by the authorities – surrender or die. ibid.
‘He’s such a monster; he’s a psycho.’ ibid. opposition politician, re president
There are many stories of people exploiting this drugs war to frame their enemies. ibid.
We were waging a religious war. Foreign tourists were considered to be enemies by the Abu Sayyaf. Tourists will be among the victims and millions of dollars will come to the group for the creation of an independent Islamic state. This is Jihad. Captive IV: American Missionaries, Philippines, jihadist, Netflix 2016
2 June 2001 Lamitan, southern Philippines: A day of running battles in the streets of the town of Lamitan: troops of the Philippine’ army using helicopters and tanks against a group of Islamic rebels holed up in a local hospital; they reported that most of the group seized from the beach resort were inside the hospital. ibid. news
Abu Sabaya, leader of the kidnappers, escaped the army raid that killed Martin Burnham. He was killed two weeks later in a sting operation carried out by the Philippine’ marines in collaboration with the CIA. Abu Sayyaf continues to kidnap and kill and has now switched its allegiance from Al Qaeda to the so-called Islamic State. To date, the money paid to Abu Sayyaf is the only ransom payment facilitated by the US government as a matter of policy. ibid.
In 2016 President Duterte of the Philippines launched a brutal war on drugs … ‘His orders to his people and to the police: Kill them.’ Storyville: On the President’s Orders, BBC 2019
Over the next year, police shot dead more than three-thousand addicts and dealers. Thousands more were executed by masked gunmen. ibid.
Then in August 2017 police executed a high school student in Caloocan district, Manila. The entire Caloocan police force was fired, and Duterte promised to scale back the drugs war. ibid.
Since the beginning of the drug war, more than 160,000 suspected addicts and pushers have been locked up. Many are held for years without trial. ibid.
Manila 2014: Imelda Marcos, First Lady of the Philippines 1965-1986: When I see Manila, I feel so depressed and sad. The Kingmaker, Sky Documentaries 2020
I miss the clout of being First Lady. ibid.
She let it be known that one day she would be more than First Lady. ibid.
Imelda very enjoyed the role of First Lady, and Marcus was afraid to leave the the Philippines less they’d be a coup. ibid. journalist
Sometimes, it helps that you are not taken too seriously. ibid. Imelda
Marcos blamed growing discontent on communist insurgents: he jailed dissidents and jailed all political opposition. ibid. news
It is not OK for them to flaunt what they stole. ibid. Aquino
Under pressure from the United States, Marcos called a snap election. ibid. news
By and large it will be a fair, honest and clean election. ibid. Marcos
She left behind 3,000 pairs of shoes. ibid. news
Beauty really is the extravagance of love. ibid. Imelda
70,000 people were incarcerated, 35,000 people tortured, 3,200 killed. ibid. caption
The stealing of the money by the billions impacted on the economic community … There’s a huge gap between the rich and the poor. ibid. lady
The elitist type of democratic rule that followed after Marcos did not really go down with the poor people. ibid.
1In 2019 Facebook discovered hundreds of fake news accounts linked to Duterte and the Marcoses. ibid. caption
With Duterte’s support Imee Marcos won a Senate seat after her term ended as governor. ibid.
Imee’s son was elected to her governor’s seat, preserving the Marcoses’ political power in the North. ibid.
Bongbong Marcos’ electoral protest awaits a decision by the Supreme Court. ibid.
Under pressure from President Duterte, the Supreme Court’s chief justice was removed and replaced with a pro-Marcos justice. ibid.
In July 2019 police charged Vice-President Leni Robredo and 35 other members of the opposition with plotting to oust President Duterte. If convicted, Robredo faces up to 12 years in jail. Some analysts believe the charges against her are designed to help clear Bongbong’s path to power. ibid.