Amnesty International found that the criminalization of the use and possession of drugs for personal use has enabled the Philippine government to continue implementing harsh anti-drug measures.
In this report based on interviews with 56 people, 26 of whom were accused of using and/or selling drugs, Amnesty International shows that these measures are intended to force people to stop using drugs where the use of drugs is not only stigmatized but also severely punished. This approach has resulted in numerous human rights violations – people are targeted in violent police operations that often involve torture and other ill-treatment, arbitrary detention, forced or otherwise unreliable confessions and multiple violations of the right to health, including mandatory “treatment and rehabilitation”. The prosecution of drug-related offences has also failed to protect people’s right to a fair trial, forcing them to choose between going to drug detention centres for compulsory “treatment” or pursuing a protracted trial. It has also resulted in children being arrested and detained and sometimes subject to various forms of torture and other ill-treatment, exposing them possibly life-long trauma.
The Philippine government must move away from punitive and harmful responses. Instead, it must explore evidenced-based initiatives that respect the dignity of all people and have been demonstrated to be beneficial to public health and human rights. The compulsory and punitive nature of the current model should be discontinued and the government should work to ensure that drug-related services are evidence-based, voluntary, and age- and gender-appropriate. The government must also work towards addressing the stigma and discrimination around the use of drugs.