According to reports by human rights groups, at least 122 children were killed in President Rodrigo Duterte's anti-drug campaign from July 2016 to December 2019.
In a report titled "How Could They Do This To My Child?", the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) and Children’s Legal Rights and Development Center (CLRDC) said that most of the killings were deliberate and “not just accidents” as some government officials have claimed.
The investigation found that in 47 cases, children were killed in police operations, while in 75 cases, unknown persons were the killers — who according to some witnesses were related to the police.
Children aged 1 to 17 years were killed in four ways:
- Direct target – children deliberately targeted
- Proxies – killed in retaliation for another person
- Mistaken identity – children mistaken for each other
- Collateral damage – suffered from surgery
According to data, 97 children were killed in Luzon, 14 in the Visayas, and 11 in Mindanao.
OMCT and CLRDC call for an end to this violence and the use of safer methods based on human rights and public health.
According to Gerald Staberock, Secretary General of OMCT, the lack of justice exacerbates the cycle of violence that has led to killings, including of children.
