this defentention center wa built for 260 people. but currently holds 4,800. long past capacity, three years ago it reached an unstable number of inmates. this increase in arrests were triggered by the election of president rodrigo duterte.

president duterte gave approval for police to use lethal force with any suspects that resisted. with self-proclaimed vigilantes also committing murders, more than 20,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the past three years. as murders grew to be daily occurrences, this situation soon came to be called a war on drugs. one photo journalist has been recording the crime scenes. his name is rafi larma. in 2016, he took a picture of a woman cradling her dead husband. to start a d discussion n about reality of the war on drurugs. >> that's justice for our

gogovernment. it's so convenienent. >> lerma continues to take pictures of families who have lost loved ones. >> he buried his son. in this episode, we investigate the war on drugs in the

philippines. through the camera of rafi lerma. this is a slum in the tondo district of northwestern manila. it has one of the highest rates of drug-related murders in the city. this day he has scheduled a session with a family. the son was killed by police on suspicion of drug possession two years ago. a majority of the residents here

live below the poverty line. people and homes fill the narrow alleys. ♪ both unemployment and crime rates are high. she lives in this tiny room with her husband, children and grandchildren. six people in total.

according to the police, justin was killed because he resisted arrest.. but somome witnesses say he raid both h hands and cooperated. killed at the age of 25, justin left behind two children.

it's been three years since the so-called war on drugs began. and there is no shortage of subjects for l lerma's phototographs.

the philippines has long been plagued with serious drug

addiction and corruption. in addition to domestic operations, drugs are illegally trafficked from other countries, spreading addiction all over the nation. at the time president duterte was elected in 2016, one out of every 25 citizens was reportedly addicted to drugs. among all street drugs, methamphetamine are the type most commonly used by the poor. methamphetamine can be easily made in a small factory and purchased relatively cheaply.

many people get involved in drugs in order to put food on the table. before the crackdown, drugs were a surprisingly common element of every day life in the philippines. they were easily purchased in back alleys.s. before he was killed, justin lopez worked as a day laborer at a metal processing company. he made $5 u.s. a day, just half the minimum wage. justin worked long overtime hours to support his family. eventually, he began using

methamphetamines.

at this media center next to the police station, jououalists wait for informatioion onnenew cases. recently, nights have been quiet in manila.

so far, roughly 170,000 drug suspects have been arrested, with more than $764 million worth off drugs confeiscated. manila is gaining peace,e, boosd by suppoport for the president' kr drug policy. lerma continues his mission as a

freelance photographer, showing the lives of family torn apart. but before the policy began, he was employed by a newspaper. like other photographers in his field, he works nights, taking pictures of crime scenes. >> an alleged drugpusheher. police say he's a big-time drugpusher..

alleged drugpushers fought back. and they call i it here -- and that shadowou see on the back is an actual shadow for a police officer. >> lerma saw dead bodies on the streets almost every day. sometimes as many as 32 people were killed in one night. >> w we were overwhwhelmed, the numberer of people getting kili.

>> his life took a turn when he captured image of the griing widow h holding h her husband's body. the photo has since been called "pieta", after the sculpture of the virgin mary, cradling the dead body of christ. >> there was a strong photo. >> the picture quickly spread online, prompting debate over the war on drugs.

>> and later i wanted to know who michael cerron was. and i found this house, this is where he liveded. ththis is his housuse, their so-calalled drugpusher. and they live in this house. >> the incident made lerma focus

on the lives of the murder victims and their fafamilies. on this day, lerma returned to the tondo district and visited the spot where djustin was killed. he was shot right here. his body founund face up.

>> lerma has witnessed the reality behind the elimination of drugs.

>> if we progress, one of these days, maybe buildings, philippines rich, but we killed thousands of people to reach this. is it right? for the price of progress, we killed thousands of filipinos. ii cannot t take that. >> the war in minl appears to be winding down, but on this day, lerma's destination was another crime scene. the source of the information was online news.

>> really, there's a big spike in killings in the province. and the problem, since it's just a few hours away, t there's not much media in this area. >> l eterma plans to keep takin photos of grieving family members to show the relentless war on drugs. the case occurred two days ago. all lerma knows is in which district the body was found.

almost two hours went by, without any leads on the murder.

the funeral parlor staff may know something due to the nature of their work. lerma hoped he would come across a connection. while asking for permission to take pictures of them, lerma pays utmost respect to the families who are grappling with their loss.

most families refuse to have their pictures taken, and yet lerma is determined onn his mission. lelerma continues his strtrugglr recognition of the victitims.

normita visited her son's grave with his father. it's been almost two years since djustin lost his life. as the war on drugs continues, whether it can truly bring justice to this nation is a question that remains unanswered.

>> we have all been tempted by it. >> reportersrs come on france 24 and frfrance24.com. on's sosomers o of said -- of susudan us seven council e sworn in. this four months after omar bashir was ousted. will startsident consulting party leaders after the government collapsed and the prime minister resigned on tuesday.