Truth Commission builds registry of drug war killings in Philippines

MANILA — The civil society-led Truth Commission has launched an initiative to create a unified registry of killings from the drug war conducted under former President Rodrigo Duterte's administration, aiming to establish a standardized count of the controversial campaign's fatalities.

The commission made the appeal Tuesday, requesting that families of victims and civil society organizations submit information and documentation to contribute to the registry. The effort comes amid widely varying official and unofficial estimates of the death toll, which has ranged from thousands to tens of thousands depending on the source.

The registry project represents an attempt to reconcile conflicting figures and provide a more comprehensive accounting of lives lost during the intensified anti-drug operations that characterized much of Duterte's presidency from 2016 to 2022. The drug war has faced international scrutiny over allegations of extrajudicial killings and human rights violations.

By consolidating victim accounts and supporting documentation, the commission seeks to create an authoritative record that could inform accountability efforts and historical documentation. The registry is intended to provide families of victims with an official acknowledgment of their losses while contributing to broader reconciliation and truth-seeking processes in the country.