De Lima laments PH's '4th most dangerous country' tag due to war on drugs

The government must immediately halt its brutal and sham war on drugs as the international community now sees the Philippines as a dangerous place due to the thousands of civilian deaths it caused, Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima stressed.

"Napakapangit na ng larawan ng ating bansa dahil sa pekeng giyera kontra ilegal na droga ni Mr. Duterte. Ngayon, itinuturing na tayo bilang isa sa pinakamarahas at mapanganib na lugar sa buong mundo," said De Lima, the staunchest critic of the Duterte regime's war on drugs.

De Lima made the pronouncement after the Philippines was dubbed as 4th most dangerous country in terms of civilian-targeted violence by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED).

As a disaggregated conflict collection, analysis and crisis mapping project, ACLED collects dates, actors, types of violence, locations, and fatalities of all reported political violence and protest events across Africa, South Asia, South East Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America.

In its report, ACLED placed as the 4th most dangerous country with 345 violent events that targeted civilians. The country trails India (1,385 violent events), Syria (1,160) and Yemen (500).

"Nakakalungkot na nahilera tayo sa mga bansang gaya ng India, Syria at Yemen kung saan mayroong mga nagaganap na kaguluhan. Subalit sa Pilipinas, nag-uugat ang karahasan sa giyera kontra droga na walang naidulot kundi pagdanak ng dugo ng ating mga kababayan," said De Lima.

Recently, De Lima reiterated her call to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) to put a stop to the "Duterte killing machine" by conducting an independent probe on the thousands of killings and abuses.

In her Dispatch from Crame No. 552, De Lima stressed the need for an intervention by the UNHRC and the ICC, especially with the lack of initiative from the Duterte regime to conduct a thorough probe on the thousands of killings during its watch.

The lady Senator from Bicol said a UNHRC-spearheaded probe is paramount to help attain justice for the families of thousands of victims of extrajudicial and summary killings stemming from the Duterte's war on drugs.

De Lima is set to file a measure seeking to strengthen accountability for the thousands of casualties in the government's sham drug war that has failed to address the problem and has led to the killings of thousands of mostly poor Filipinos.

For her vocal stand against the abuses and extrajudicial killings under the Duterte regime, De Lima was unjustly and illegally detained using trumped-up charges fabricated by the administration using perjured and coerced witnesses.