Upon the directive of Manila Mayor Isko Moreno to clean Baseco Compound, which he claims to be a haven of illegal drugs, hundreds of police officers attacked the community last August 11.

Baseco is an urban poor community along Manila Bay. Thousands of its residents were targeted to be displaced since March to pave way for the Manila Bay reclamation which covers 200 hectares of Baseco.

Using its bogus anti-drug campaign as pretext, PNP forces round up 700-1000 residents along the shoreline of Baseco. Around 21 persons were arrested while three others were killed after allegedly attempting to “fight back.”

The same operations were carried out in the early morning of August 11 in Antipolo City. Police and soldiers of the 2nd ID rounded up 80 individuals at the covered court of Sitio Tanglaw, Barangay San Isidro, whom they claimed to be included in their watchlist. At gunpoint, they were made to lie facedown and coerced to undergo drug testing. Houses were also searched and cellphones were confiscated without presenting any warrant.

The AFP and PNP’s excessive use of force in these “anti-drug” operations was vehemently condemned by various groups. According to Karapatan, these operations eventually result in the indisciminate violation of human rights under the regime’s continuing bloody war on drugs.

From July 2016 to May 2019, more than 6,600 have been killed by the PNP based its official report on its so-called war on drugs. On the other hand, more than 27,000 have fallen victim to extrajudicial killings perpetrated by death squads in the same period.