White ribbon campaign for drug war victims launched

Progressive group Bayan Muna and human rights advocates launched the "White Ribbon: Duterte Panagutin" campaign yesterday at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani in Quezon City, calling for justice for victims of former president Rodrigo Duterte's drug war campaign.

- By MARK ERNEST VILLEZA

The event gathered families of victims, church groups and civil society organizations in a symbolic protest against extrajudicial killings allegedly committed during Duterte's administration.

According to official government figures, at least 6,252 people—mostly from urban poor communities—were killed in police anti-drug operations between 2016 and 2022. Activists and human rights groups, however, put the death toll higher.

"We are here not only to remember the victims, but to demand that Rodrigo Duterte be held accountable for the mass murder of the poor," former Bayan Muna representative Neri Colmenares said.