FACT CHECK: Barbers inaccurately cites data on drug-related killings under Marcos administration

During the Nov. 7 hearing of the quad committee of the House of Representatives, Surigao Del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers inaccurately cited data in a VERA Files article. He said there were only 73 drug-related killings under the Marcos administration from July 2022 to December 2023.

STATEMENT

In his opening remarks at the 10th quadcom hearing, Barbers, overall chair of the four committees, said:

“Mula July 2022 hanggang katapusan ng 2023, ang bilang ng mga napatay sa mga legitimate police anti-illegal drug operations ay 73 lamang po.”

Source: House of Representatives, TENTH PUBLIC HEARING OF THE HOUSE QUAD-COMMITTEE, Nov. 7, 2024, watch from 28:26 to 28:38

VERA Files was listed in Barbers’ slide presentation as the source of the data.

FACT

The VERA Files article cited and Dahas Project’s full report did not state that only 73 persons were killed during Marcos’ first year and a half in office.

According to the database of the Dahas Project of the University of the Philippines’ Third World Studies Center, there were a total of 506 drug-related killings from July 2022 to December 2023, of which 218 were committed by state agents.