At least 1,916 drug suspects were killed in the war on illicit drugs since July 1, Philippine National Police Director General Ronald de la Rosa said today.
There has been an increase of 137 in the death toll from what was he announced on Monday during the first day of an investigation in which he said 1,779 drug suspects were killed.
Also on Monday, De la Rosa said that out of 1,779 deaths, 712 were killed in the ongoing operations while 1,067 died in "vigilante-type" killings.
The number of deaths were recorded since July 1, a day after President Rodrigo Duterte assumed presidency. The figure also means that more than 30 persons were killed every single day since.
About 300 police officers protect drug lords, de la Rosa said.
De la Rosa predicted that the number of casualties will continue to increase in the coming days as the administration continues its war against drugs.
"In the next six months I hope that we can stop the supply of drugs. If we would be able to cut the supply we would certainly reduce the demand," said De la Rosa.
