Philippine authorities are arbitrarily detaining thousands of people in so-called “drug treatment and rehabilitation centres” where they are held against their will and subjected to a range of human rights violations, Amnesty International said today in a new report on the country’s ongoing “war on drugs”.
Submit and surrender: The harms of arbitrary drug detention in the Philippines documents how people who use drugs are being sent to government-run facilities where they are forced to go through programmes that are not evidence-based. People in “rehabilitation” are punished for using drugs and coerced into abstinence, forced to undergo mandatory drug testing in violation of their right to privacy, and subjected to severe punishments for rule violations, including weeks or months in isolation.
“Drug detention centres are disguised as facilities offering treatment and rehabilitation. In reality, they are places of arbitrary detention where people suffer serious human rights violations that continue even after their release,” said Jerrie Abella, Amnesty International’s Campaigner on the Philippines.
The report comes amid renewed scrutiny of violations committed under former President Rodrigo Duterte in the “war on drugs.”
“While lawmakers rightly examine the role of President Duterte and others in suspected crimes against humanity, these ongoing and largely hidden violations taking place within drug detention centres must also be urgently addressed,” said Jerrie Abella.
People who use drugs continue to be criminalized and stigmatized through punitive policies and practices despite the end of the Duterte era
Jerrie Abella, Amnesty International’s Campaigner on the Philippines
“The administration of President Marcos Jr pledged a new approach to the country’s drugs problems focused on public health and human rights. Instead, people who use drugs continue to be criminalized and stigmatized through punitive policies and practices despite the end of the Duterte era.”
The ongoing “war on drugs” continues to disproportionately affect people living in poverty and on low incomes.
Torture during arrest and forced admission of guilt
People who use drugs in the Philippines are often targeted in violent police operations that frequently involve torture and other ill-treatment, arbitrary detention and forced or otherwise unreliable confessions.
One interviewee, Michael (not his real name), described how police tortured him to admit he used drugs by beating him on the feet with a wooden stick, squeezing his hands with bullets in between his fingers and burning his eyes and face with chilli juice. He said the police then took staged photos of him “using” drugs as evidence. He was sent to a drug detention centre three days later.
Drug detention centres are usually located close to or even inside police or military bases, emphasizing their punitive nature. Like Michael, many of those interviewed by Amnesty International were sent to these centres after entering into plea-bargain deals with courts, which do not have the medical expertise to order or supervise any kind of drug treatment. Under this arrangement, in exchange for pleading guilty to using drugs, individuals are spared imprisonment but instead must undergo mandatory “rehabilitaton”.
Under the terms of such plea bargains, individuals are compelled to stay inside the centres throughout the duration of their sentence, which usually lasts from six months to a year.
Mandatory drug testing and corporal punishment for rule violations
The conditions within drug detention centres are also often in contravention of international human rights law and standards. Prior to and during their detention, people are required to undergo repeated compulsory drug testing.
“Random or mandatory drug tests without due justification are an arbitrary interference with an individual’s privacy and are counterproductive from a right to health perspective, as they are usually used by the authorities to retain leverage over people who use drugs,” said Jerrie Abella.
Rule violations often result in corporal punishment, including being forced to do strenuous physical exercises, weeks or months of isolation, and degrading acts such as being forced to “walk like a duck” or “face the wall” for hours.
The most serious rule breaches, like attempting to escape or engaging in sexual relations, can result in a person’s detention being extended for months, with no medical justification.
Children as young as 15 years old have also been arrested, subjected to various forms of torture and other ill-treatment and sometimes to arbitrary drug detention in centres unsuitable for their needs, exposing them to long-term and even life-long trauma.
Tol (not his real name), who was 16 years old when he was arrested, was arbitrarily detained at a drug detention centre from June 2022 to December 2023. According to him, four months were added to his detention for violating the ‘no sex’ rule.
I’d face the wall from 8am to 8pm…every day from Monday to Sunday
Tol (not his real name)
He said of his additional punishment: “I’d face the wall from 8am to 8pm, on the stage at the gym where it was so hot even if there was a roof, every day from Monday to Sunday.”
Invasive “aftercare” programmes
Even after release, people are subject to an invasive “aftercare” programme that requires them to regularly report to authorities for 18 months and submit to further unannounced and mandatory drug tests. Those undergoing “aftercare” were told that a refusal to take a drug test would be taken as evidence of relapse, which would be followed by threats of re-arrest or readmission to a drug detention centre. There is also little government support to assist with re-integration into society, resulting in additional stigmatization.
“Drug policies in the Philippines must move away from punitive and harmful responses and towards evidenced-based initiatives that respect the dignity of all people and address the root causes of drug use. Drug treatment must always be voluntary, medically indicated, based on scientific evidence and safeguarded by free and informed consent. Drug detention is not and will never be the solution,” said Jerrie Abella.
“Facilities that fail to comply with international standards must be immediately shut down. The government must also urgently fulfil its pledge to review RA1965, the punitive anti-drug law which lies at the heart of ongoing violations in the ‘war on drugs’, and replace it with one that emphasizes harm reduction, treatment and social support.”