Abstract
Since President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s ascension to the presidency in July 2016, he weaves and pursues his own brand of authoritarianism. Riding on his popularity, he raises the issue of illegal drugs as a question of national survival for the nation. With this obsession, Duterte has unleashed the entire police force with the state’s resources on his war on drugs. In more than a year of its implementation, the war on drugs has created havoc in the lives of the Filipino people. Furthermore, it has promoted a culture of impunity, and fear has gripped the nation. With the worsening human rights situation, human rights in social work practice in the Philippines grapples with the multi-faceted effects of the war on drugs. Given the specificity of needs and circumstances of the violations, the social work profession can and should respond to the unfolding challenges through various interventions at the individual, family, and community levels.
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Espenido, G. Philippines’ War on Drugs: Its Implications to Human Rights in Social Work Practice. J. Hum. Rights Soc. Work 3, 138–148 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41134-018-0071-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41134-018-0071-6