Duterte's Drug War: Opening the Doors for Extortion
In fulfilling his 2016 election promise to tackle the Philippines’ illegal drug trade, President Rodrigo Duterte, nicknamed the ‘Punisher’, has been relentless in his mission to dismantle the country’s narcotics industry. However, Duterte’s war on drugs is reportedly being used as an avenue by some corrupt police officers to extort money from suspects in exchange for avoiding imprisonment.
In one of the most prominent cases to date, on 18 October 2016, police from a special anti-drug unit reportedly kidnapped a South Korean businessman during a raid. The victim was subsequently killed by the police officers although they led his wife to believe that he was still alive and demanded a ransom of USD 161,000 for his release. Unable to pay the whole amount, she reportedly paid USD 142,646, thinking her husband was still alive. Ongoing investigations revealed that the victim’s body was cremated and three police officers have since been detained.
In another incident, in November 2016, a Makati police officer asked a Singaporean businessman to pay USD 15,000 in exchange for dropping an investigation into his alleged involvement in drug trafficking. Most recently, in December 2016, four Makati policemen were suspended after a Thai -Filipino woman filed a complaint at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) alleging that police officers had demanded USD 10,000 from her for the safe release of her partner, who was arrested for possessing an illegal firearm.
Police officers making use of fabricated drug allegations to extort money is not a new trend in the Philippines. Indeed, accusations of members of the police force being involved in extortion activities, and even kidnapping incidents, is common in the country, with incidents reported almost daily in local news. Prior to the beginning of the government crackdown on the illegal drug trade, for example, a retired US Air Force member was arrested on false allegations of possessing illegal drugs in April 2016. In order to have the charges dropped and avoid imprisonment, the victim paid a USD 3,000 fee.
In all cases, the police officers involved were suspended. Incidents of crime involving corrupt police officers are generally treated as acts of misbehaviour. However, aware that some police officers are using the government crackdown on drug trafficking as an opportunity to extort business people – an issue which risks further tarnishing the credibility of the campaign – authorities have taken a sterner tone with law enforcement personnel. In November 2016, the Philippines National Police Chief Director, General Ronald de la Rosa, warned that he would “break the necks” of security personnel who are using the government’s anti-narcotics campaign to extort money from the public.
President Duterte has also condemned this practice, indicating that he wants corrupt officers to resign or be fired from service if found guilty. Despite warnings from officials, however, poorly paid security personnel are likely to continue to try and supplement their monthly income through extortion. In this regard, the government’s current anti-narcotics campaign offers a unique window of opportunity for corrupt police offers to extort money from drug dealers, users, and even innocent civilians, both local and foreign.