The University of the Philippines Third World Studies Center (UP TWSC) released its first Dahas project report. It revealed that drug killings during the first year of Bong Bong Marcos as the Philippine President are higher compared to Rodrigo Duterte's. 

UP TWSC Claims Marcos' First Year Has More Drug Killings Than Duterte's

(Photo: Ezra Acayan/Getty Images) Philippine President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. speaks during a change of command ceremony at Camp Aguinaldo on August 8, 2022, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. Lieutenant General Bacarro is replacing outgoing military chief General Andres Centino and will be the first military chief to serve a three-year term under a newly signed law.

According to Inquirer.Net, the first Dahas project report was released by UP TWSC just in time for Marcos' 2nd SONA (State of the Nation Address).

The Dahas project report stated that there are 342 drug-related deaths during Philippine President Bongbong Marcos' first year. 

This is higher compared to Duterte's first year as the president of the Philippines, which has 302 drug killings. 

The drug killings that UP TWSC monitored were recorded from July 1, 2022, until June 30, 2023. 

Although the drug killings under the Marcos Administration were higher, the UP Third World Studies Center said that the number is not that much. 

"The 342 drug-related deaths under the first year of [Marcos] give us the answer: Not much," said UP TWSC.

Read Also: Philippine President Marcos Signs New Agrarian Emancipation Act

About UP TWSC's Dahas Project 

(Photo: TED ALJIBE/AFP via Getty Images) Activists lit candles during the candlelight vigil for victims of the extra-judicial killings in the drug war of the government in front of a church in Manila on September 16, 2016. The Philippines faced calls on September 16 to investigate its firebrand president after a self-confessed hitman alleged Rodrigo Duterte ordered a thousand opponents and suspected criminals murdered when he was a city mayor.

Via its official website, UP TWSC explained that the Dahas project is a multisectoral undertaking launched to produce and disseminate research outputs that can be used to maintain an evidence-based intervention. 

These interventions are specifically those in ongoing public debates regarding the violence in the Philippines linked to authoritarianism. 

One of the main goals of the Dahas project is to keep track of the drug-related killings happening in the country. 

UP TWSC provides its Dahas project database free to the public. Its database already contains deaths linked to the government's war on drugs initiative from 2021 until 2023. 

The drug killings included in UP TWSC's Dahas project meet the following criteria: 

• Deaths linked to drug-related activity, encounter, or operation. 
• Deaths involved in the drug trade or in the war on drugs. 
• Deaths linked to illegal drug possession accusation.

If you want to see the latest drug killings in the Philippines, you can click here.  

Related Article: Marcos Visits Philippine Air Force on Anniversary, Stresses Service's Key Role in Looming 'Geopolitical Challenges'