New York Times report on Duterte’s anti-drug war can be read in Filipino

The New York Times has published a report by photojournalist Daniel Berehulak, who documented the cases of 57 homicide victims in 35 days, that can be read in three languages, including Filipino.

In his report, which can also be read in English and Spanish, Berehulak noted that 2,000 people had been slain at the hands of the police since President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office on June 30.

Screengrab from www.nytimes.com

Berehulak reported that in his 35 days in the Philippines, he photographed 57 murder victims in 41 sites.

"I witnessed bloody scenes just about everywhere imaginable — on the sidewalk, on train tracks, in front of a girls’ school, outside 7-Eleven stores and a McDonald’s restaurant, across bedroom mattresses and living-room sofas," he related.

"I watched as a woman in red peeked at one of those grisly sites through fingers held over her eyes, at once trying to protect herself and permit herself one last glance at a man killed in the middle of a busy road," he added.

His report showed graphic photos of the murder victims such as Michael Araja, 29, who was killed by two men riding by on a motorbike, and Frederick Mafe, 48, and Arjay Lumbago, 23, who were riding a motorbike when attacked by a pair, also on motorbike.

Berehulak said he has worked in 60 countries, "covered wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and spent much of 2014 living inside West Africa’s Ebola zone, a place gripped by fear and death."

"What I experienced in the Philippines felt like a new level of ruthlessness: police officers’ summarily shooting anyone suspected of dealing or even using drugs, vigilantes’ taking seriously Mr. Duterte’s call to “slaughter them all. He said in October, 'You can expect 20,000 or 30,000 more,'" the photojournalist said.

Berehulak said the term "nanlaban" has become a bad joke, referring to those who allegedly fought against the police, the reason why they were killed.

"Police officers appeared to do little to hide their involvement in what were essentially extrajudicial executions. Nanlaban had become a dark joke," he said. —KG, GMA News