In an interview with ANC’s Headstart on February 3, 2022, Robin Padilla stated that the Duterte administration’s war on drugs is “most successful.”

The actor and senatorial candidate also said that extrajudicial killings (EJKs) are part of the government’s fight against crimes. However, in a Facebook post, he later elaborated on his statement and said that EJKs are not the doing of the government but rather the work of “uniformed gangsters”.

Padilla is currently running for senator under Duterte’s party, PDP-Laban. In 2016, Duterte granted him absolute pardon for his illegal possession of firearms case which restored his political and civil rights.

CLAIM:
Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’ is successful, EJKs are not the work of the government

RATING:
FALSE

FACTS:

While the government has not presented any sort of scientific metric or rubric to support and assess the claim that the Duterte administration’s deadly ‘war on drugs’ is successful, it has – on the other hand – taken the lives of thousands of Filipinos, most of whom came from poor communities. Even a 5-year-old from Dagupan City can now be counted as one of the casualties of the anti-illegal drugs campaign, after getting killed by a stray bullet that the police aimed at her grandfather. In fact, the conduct of the anti-illegal drugs campaign is one of the main charges in the cases filed against the Duterte administration at the International Criminal Court.

While Padilla later changed his statement on EJKs being an official policy of the government, his statement that killings are perpetrated by “uniformed gangsters” only diluted – and not entirely disproved – his earlier statement. In fact, in one of the few EJK cases connected to the drug war – that of 17-year-old Kian Delos Santos, a ruling was released that charged three police officers  for murder.

WHY IT MATTERS:

According to the latest Pulse Asia senatorial survey, Padilla is in the 10th to 14th place in the senatorial ranking. The clip of the interview posted by Padilla currently has around 340,000 views and has garnered mostly favorable responses from the audience. Inquirer’s post regarding this issue also has around 17,000 reactions, 4,000 comments, and 3,700 shares, while Philstar’s post has around 8,500 reactions, 1,200 comments, and 1,400 shares. Lastly, the whole interview, posted on ANC’s YouTube channel, currently has around 22,000 views.
 – Minerva San Miguel & Gail Sobrevega

Altermidya Network is part of #FactsFirstPH which brings together various sectors that are committed to promoting truth in the public space, and exacting accountability on those who harm it with lies. For those interested to join the initiative, email info@factsfirst.ph.