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Waging a bloody war on drugs

Text and video by LUIS LIWANAG

AS the veil of darkness shrouds the city, they gather and hold their nightly vigil. They are local and international journalists out to investigate the deaths.

For months now, dead bodies have been littering the streets every night.

The bodies are found and categorized according to the manner of their death– killed during police operations or killed by unidentified assailants. Some are unnamed, others labeled as drug pushers, the words written in bold, big letters on torn cartons.

The first 100 days of President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration and his war on drugs have claimed close to 4,000 lives and the number is still rising.

He promised to end the drug problem in three months. Now he wants the deadline extended, saying he had underestimated the magnitude of the problem.

As his deadline looms, death awaits many. Many anticipate that knock on the door, in the middle of the night, knowing death would come.