Supporters stretch their hands towards a portrait of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte during a welcome rally outside MalacaÒang Palace in Manila, Philippines on June 30, 2016óhis inauguration day.
Bodies of two men dumped in an isolated stretch of road are seen in Quezon city, Metro Manila, Philippines, June 22, 2017. Signs placed over their bodies both read "I am a thief, do not tolerate me."
The body of a suspected drug pusher lies dead next to railroad tracks following what police say was a drug buy-bust operation in Manila, Philippines, July 18, 2016. The man had allegedly fought back against undercover cops who came to buy drugs from him.
The body of a man and victim of a vigilante-style execution with his head wrapped in tape lies on a street in Manila, Philippines, July 28, 2016. A sign placed on next to the body reads "I am a Chinese drug lord."
Armed guards take position outside the ParaÒaque city jail, Metro Manila, Philippines, August 12, 2016. An alleged grenade blast killed 10 inmates, 8 of whom were awaiting trial for drug-related cases.
The bodies of Paul Lester Lorenzo and Danny Laurente are hauled away in a makeshift trolley along a railroad, after they were shot dead by police in what they say was a drug buy-bust operation in Manila, Philippines, August 17, 2016. The two men had allegedly fought back.
An injured Francisco Santiago Jr. holds up his arms following what police say was a shootout during a drug buy-bust operation in Manila, Philippines, September 13, 2016. Earlier on police claimed he was killed along with another companion, but later was found out to be only injured after Santiago claimed he "played dead" after being shot by a plain-clothes police officer.
Funeral workers remove the tape wrapped around the head and wrists of a man who police say is a victim of a drug related vigilante execution in Manila, Philippines, September 21, 2016.
The body of Gilbert Beguelme, who according to relatives was a drug user, lies dead on a jeepney after he was shot dead by unidentified men riding on a motorcycle, in Manila, Philippines, November 9, 2016. According to neighbors, Gilbert was witness to the death of Alvin Mendoza, another victim of a drug-related killing.
The body of 5-year-old Francis Manosca lies in a coffin during his funeral wake in Pasay, Philippines, December 20, 2016. Domingo Manosca and his 5-year-old son Francis was in their Pasay home when a gunman knocked on their door. Domingo stood up and peeped through a hole in the wall, the gunmen opened fire hitting him and his child Francis who was standing behind him. Domingo died on the spot while Francis passed away while being treated at the hospital.
Isabelita Espinosa weeps outside a funeral parlour following the death of her 16-year-old son Sonny and six other people after armed men opened fire on two shanties in North Caloocan, Metro Manila, Philippines, December 28, 2016. According to police and residents, their supposed target was a known drug personality. The fatalities included three minors and a pregnant woman.
Sentimina Bananga weeps next to the body of her partner Jimmy Said, who according to her was shot dead by an unidentified gunman in a motorcycle while they were begging in the street, in Manila, Philippines, January 22, 2017.
A police investigator covers a shooting victim with a cardboard poster in Quezon city, Metro Manila, Philippines, February 9, 2017.
he body of Angelito Guidotte, who worked as a scanvenger and was also a drug pusher according to his brother, lies dead along Payatas road after being killed by unknown assailants in Quezon city, Metro Manila, Philippines, February 9, 2017.
Luzviminda Siapo upon arriving home from Kuwait, weeps over the coffin of her son Raymart Siapo who was kidnapped and killed by armed men a day after a neighbor had reported him for selling drugs, in Navotas, Philippines, April 3, 2017.
Marianito Libo-on smokes a cigarette as he stares at a pool of blood belonging to his son Jomar, who was shot numerous times by masked assailants in front of his wife and children, in Quezon city, Philippines, June 14, 2017.
A resident lights candles next to a pool of blood belonging to a suspected drug user who was shot dead by unknown assailants in Navotas, Philippines, June 20, 2017.
Ginnalyn Soriano weeps over the body of her elder brother Julius, who allegedly fought back and was killed by police during what they said was a drug sting operation, at a morgue in Malabon, Metro Manila, Philippines, June 22, 2017. At the morgue, the family noticed Juliusí wrists had cuff marks. The arm had a bullet wound too, and the slug was still embedded in his arm right where the cuff mark was, suggesting that the cuffs had stopped the bullet.
Bea, sister of 17-year-old Harold Bulan, holds a toy gun next to his coffin during his funeral wake in Quezon city, Philippines, December 7, 2017. Harold was last seen with his cousin Jerico Garcia and their friend Jomari SiÒerez around midnight of November 22, 2017. Hours later, their bodies were dumped in different parts of town. Their throats had been sliced. A cardboard attached next to one of them listed the names of their friends. ìYou are next!î the writing on the sign read.
Family and friends of 13-year-old Aldrin Pineda weep during his funeral in Manila, March 14, 2018. Aldrin was playing with his friends in their neighborhood when Omar Molinao, a police officer, shot him dead. Officer Malinao claims he was on patrol in the area when he tripped and accidentally fired his gun.
Project Description
More than 27,000 dead: This is the result of a two-year war on drugs in the Philippines. In 2016, Rodrigo Duterte became the President of the Southeast Asian republic. His campaign promised him to win the election: He threatened those connected to drug consumption and sales with the death penalty, called for vigilante justice and allowed the police to act with brutality under complete impunity. As President, Duterte has likened himself to Hitler and vowed to massacre millions of drug users. Dealers and users were murdered, as well as countless innocents and children – mostly the poor. An estimated 30 people are killed each day across the country. The United Nations appealed in vain to the Philippine government to investigate extrajudicial killings and to prosecute the perpetrators, while the International Criminal Court has begun preliminary examinations into these alleged crimes against humanity. The war continues however.
This photo reportage hopes to illuminate both the violent acts carried out in the Philippines as well as the questionable methods of Duterte and the police. With thousands dead in two years and with four years left in Duterte’s term, it has become more crucial than ever to record these atrocities.
Biography
Ezra Acayan is a documentary photographer based in Manila whose work primarily focuses on social issues and human rights. Currently, he is working on documentary reportage on the suffering and abuse experienced by communities under the Philippine government’s war on drugs.
In 2017, together with a team of Reuters journalists, he was awarded a special merit at the Human Rights Press Awards for multimedia reporting on the Philippine Drug War. In 2018, he received both the Ian Parry Scholarship Award for Achievement and the Lucie Foundation Photo Taken Emerging Scholarship, was named Young Photographer of the Year at the Istanbul Photo Awards.
This work – along with work by other journalists who cover the Philippine Drug War – has been exhibited in Geneva for two years as part of the Universal Periodic Review of the Philippines at the United Nations Human Rights Council. It has also been exhibited at the Foreign Correspondents Club in Thailand (FCCT), at the Prix-Bayeux Calvados Award for War Correspondents in France, at the WARM Festival in Sarajevo, and at the Lumix Festival for Young Photojournalism in Germany.
Ezra Acayan has completed multimedia work for various organisations such as Reuters, European Pressphoto Agency, Agence France-Presse, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, and the French Society magazine. He has also worked for NGOs such as Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe, Care International, and the French Red Cross. His work has appeared in Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, Vice, Washington Post, Al Jazeera, Le Monde, Stern, Paris Match, and more.
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