Wait... there’s only 5,000 murders per year in the Philippines.
That’s about 400 per month.
This report is citing 544 murders of alleged criminals in three and a half weeks. That means that if no other murders took place, there would still be a surge of more than 50% in the number of murders!
You may be fascistic enough to approve of such murders, but in no way does that mean murders are down!
Police data, however, showed that only 239 drug suspects were killed in police operations from June 30 (the day Duterte assumed office) to July 22.
“We have received information that they [drug syndicates] are killing each other,” Dela Rosa told reporters.
[The killings you see now, you are always pointing to the police but the police are only doing legitimate operations. Those who are salvaging suspects and throwing bodies everywhere, they are the work of the drug syndicates],” Dela Rosa said.