Eleazar questions HRW's basis for claiming drug war killings increased by 50% during pandemic

Joint Task Force COVID Shield chief Police Lieutenant General Guillermo Eleazar on Friday questioned the basis of Human Rights Watch (HRW) for claiming that killings related to the government's war on drugs increased by almost 50% during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a television interview, Eleazar said based on the Philippine National Police's records, the increase was only 4.74%.

"When it (HRW report) was presented sa media at nakita ko na 50%, parang nagtataka rin ako. Pero when our director for operations presented this (PNP report) a day or two after that, iyon ang nakita ko, 5% or 4.74% ang tinaas nitong died in police operations," he told ANC.

"So napakaiba, masyadong malayo."

According to Carlos Conde, HRW - Asia Division researcher, killings in relation to the Duterte administration's drug war went up by 50% between April to July 2020 compared to the previous four-month period.

He said this was based on the latest data of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency indicating that a total of 5,810 individuals died during anti-illegal drug operations since 2016.

"Human Rights Watch analyzed the government’s statistics and found 155 persons were killed in the past four months. Before the COVID-19 crisis, police killed 103 persons from December 2019 to March 2020," Conde said.

"The number of fatalities in these ostensible drug enforcement raids, in which the police routinely claimed that the victims fought back, jumped dramatically from the 26 deaths recorded by the PDEA in five months from July to November 2019," he added.

In the interview, Eleazar boasted that police anti-drug operations have been successful during the pandemic period.

"With regard to accomplishment, mas marami tayo ngayong naging accomplishment, billions of pesos worth of shabu na na-confiscate," he said, adding that several "big fish" were also arrested.

But asked to identify even one of the arrested "big fish," Eleazar said, "I don't know about the names but the point is these are the ones who are involved in transacting billions of pesos worth [of illegal drugs], the biggest haul is more than 800 kilograms [of illegal drugs] in Bulacan na nahuli natin, at yung Chinese personalities na hindi ko alam ang pangalan."

"These are all big fish, with 800 kilograms in their possession in that particular operation," he added. —KBK, GMA News