A storm of bullets, a wave of apathy
Duterte is gaining in the war on drugs, but at a terrifying cost to Filipino society.
The Philippines is drowning in a wave of killings as the government of the newly-proclaimed President Rodrigo Duterte combats the illegal drug trade. Except for a few human rights advocates, there’s been no outcry from the population.
While Duterte directly plays down the killings in his pronouncements, pollsters say his approval ratings are “excellent” across the country’s economic classes and regions. Filipinos are gripped by a kind of collective blindness or apathy, failing to see the carnage of alleged drug offenders as a grievous wrong. Instead, they see in their tough-talking president a seriousness of purpose that is needed to turn things around for the ailing country.
Read A storm of bullets, a wave of apathy by Jayson Lamchek published in New Mandala.
