Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs is killing more than 20 people every day

He's doing as he promised.

When Rodrigo Duterte took office as the President of the Philippines in June, he vowed a violent crackdown on anyone suspected of being in the drug trade. He also encouraged others to kill drug dealers and drug users.

Since June, more than 5,600 people suspected of being in the drug trade have been killed in the name of Duterte's war on drugs. The president says the police are responsible for a third of those deaths. The bulk of the killings are done in a campaign of vigilante justice that is consuming the country.

A number of people do feel the methods are not appropriate.- Jacqueline de Guia

In December, Duterte boasted that he had also killed suspected drug criminals while still mayor of Davao City.

Now, the Philippines Commission on Human Rights is investigating Duterte for those claims. They're also investigating nearly 400 deaths related to the drug trade.

"It's resulted in a divisiveness in the country," Jacqueline de Guia tells Day 6 host Brent Bambury. She's an attorney and spokesperson for the Commission on Human Rights.

"Some people agree with the killings that are happening because they feel that this has resulted in an increase to the peace and order situation in the country," explains de Guia.

"But equally, a number of people feel the methods are not appropriate."

Extrajudicial killings

The methods de Guia refers to are ruthless. Duterte has publicly stated that he doesn't "care about human rights."

Since taking office, he has maintained his shoot-to-kill policy when it comes to suspected drug dealers.

Daniel Berehulak is a photographer with The New York Times, and in December he published a photo-essay entitled "They Are Slaughtering Us Like Animals."

He documented 57 drug-related killings in 35 days.

One photo shows a body face-down in an alleyway, abandoned and soaked in the pouring rain. Another photo shows a couple shot to death in the street, the man's legs still draping the motorcycle they were driving when they were gunned down.

What is especially sad in this situation is that most of them are poor.- Jacqueline de Guia

"Some deaths are the result of police operations, while some deaths are the result of vigilante killings," explains de Guia.

"The latter is especially chilling because there seems to be a climate of impunity."

A common tactic of the anti-drug vigilantes is to shoot suspected drug criminals point blank in the street, leaving their bodies for anyone to see. Another is to cover the victim's head with tape and leave the body on the street with a sign shaming that person as a drug dealer or user.

The victims

Many of the victims are suspects, killed without being convicted of any crime and without any due judicial process.

"What is especially sad in this situation is that most of them are poor," says de Guia, who goes on to explain that the families of the victims often don't know how to pursue justice — or don't have the means to do so.

"In the face of the extrajudicial killings, [the poor] are being placed in a vulnerable situation and are unable to fend for themselves legally."

Other victims have been caught in the crossfire of the vigilante justice.

"We have encountered a number of victims who have been innocent people who have ended up as casualties in the drug campaign launched by the government," says de Guia.

A 12-year-old girl attending Christmas mass was shot and killed as she went outside the church to use the bathroom.  And in August, a five-year-old girl was recorded as the youngest victim of the anti-drug campaign.

The fear

"There is now a climate of fear creeping [across] the country also," says de Guia. "There's a spread of apprehension on the part of the public that they may end up like the victims … soon."

The Commission on Human Rights is vowing to investigate the killings, but given the widespread support for Duterte's shoot-to-kill policy, family members of the victims are often too afraid to speak out for fear of retaliation. For that reason, and lack of financial means, the families also seldom file complaints about the killings.

Investigating the President

In December, the Philippines Commission on Human Rights announced that it would be investigating Duterte's claims that he personally killed suspected drug dealers. It's still a crime in the Philippines to commit extrajudicial killings.

The commission is also trying to investigate as many of the anti-drug killings as possible. Right now, among the more than 5,600 deaths, the commission is looking into 378 killings.

"The commission has only 15 regional offices all over the country, wherein we only have seven or eight investigators," explains de Guia.

The number of killings compared to the number of Human Rights staff makes it impossible for the commission to keep up with all of the deaths. Further hindering the investigations is the climate of fear that is silencing families and witnesses.

"While recent surveys show that while the government still enjoys popular support, a large number of people are growing afraid that they'll soon end up as victims."

De Guia hopes the growing concern will send a message to the government to reconsider the methods they are using, such as extrajudicial killings.

Until then, she says the commission will continue their work, both investigating the government and the vigilantes.

"Every life lost is equally important, regardless of who may be responsible."