The Nightcrawlers of Manila
As promised in his election campaign, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is waging a war against drugs, with a shoot-to-kill policy for suspected criminals. Since his inauguration on June 30, the bodies have been piling up, alarming human rights advocates. Photojournalist Linus Guardian Escandor II has documented the killings.
Two dead bodies lie on the pavement after a police operation against alleged drug dealers in Manila on Aug. 10. After President Rodrigo Duterte declared war against crime and the illegal drug trade, more than 400 suspected drug pushers have been killed and 600,000 suspects have voluntarily surrendered.
(Linus Guardian Escandor II / For The Times)Forensic officers examine a crime scene where two alleged motorcycle-riding drug pushers were killed in a shootout with police operatives in Las Pinas, south of Manila on July 22.
(Linus Guardian Escandor II / For The Times)Two female victims of summary execution -- believed to be suspected drug pushers -- were killed outside a park in Manila on July 21.
(Linus Guardian Escandor II / For The Times)Two alleged drug pushers were killed after a buy-bust operation in the Tondo District of Manila on July 21. One victim was an ex-cop who allegedly fired first at the arresting officers.
(Linus Guardian Escandor II / For The Times)A victim of summary execution has packing tape wrapped over his head and a sign on his chest “I am a Druglord (Chinese)” along a bridge in the Tondo District of Manila, on July 28.
(Linus Guardian Escandor II / For The Times)Family members mourn the death of a suspected drug pusher gunned down by police operatives during a buy-bust operation in Manila on Aug. 3.
(Linus Guardian Escandor II / For The Times)A victim of a summary execution with his head wrapped in duct tape is found on the pavement in Makati on Aug. 3.
(Linus Guardian Escandor II / For The Times)Roman Catholic devotees light candles at the Redemptorist Church in Paranaque, south of Manila. A permanent sign was installed, calling for an end to extra-judicial killings.
(Linus Guardian Escandor II / For The Times)A drug suspect was killed in a shootout with policemen during a buy-bust operation inside his home in the slum of Tondo in Manila on July 3.
(Linus Guardian Escandor II / For The Times)