In 2016, President Rodrigo Duterte announced a “war on drugs” in the Philippines, launching a wave of violence and murder targeting thousands of suspected drug dealers and users.
On the President's Orders
Synopsis
In 2016, President Rodrigo Duterte announced a “war on drugs” in the Philippines, launching a wave of violence and murder targeting thousands of suspected drug dealers and users. With unprecedented, intimate access both to police officials implicated in the killings and the families destroyed as the result of Duterte’s deadly campaign, On the President’s Orders is a shocking and revelatory investigation into the extrajudicial murders that continue to this day. Entering a murky world of crime, drugs and politics, the filmmakers have managed to capture the clear trajectory of what depths those who wield excessive power can reach, when attacking those who have the very least.
“On the President's Orders is an unflinching exploration of President Duterte's brutal ‘drug war’ and its devastating impact on thousands of mostly poor Filipinos.”
-Carlos Conde, Researcher, Asia Division, Human Rights Watch
January 27, 2023
January 27, 2023
Credits
James Jones
Director / Producer
Olivier Sarbil
Director / Cinematographer