I'll decline to take the bait, thanks ;-)
I will say, however, that I know at least six people here (one first-hand acquaintance, the other five friends or family of people I know) who quit meth (shabu, as it's locally called) because of Duterte's stance on drugs. What's that worth to a society from the 30,000 foot view?
As to the death squads, no, it's not true. What Duterte did (chillingly, but also brilliantly) was empower armed citizens to defend themselves against drug-related crimes. Back in Davao, during Typhoon Haiyan(?? the big one from like four years ago...) and the ensuing aftermath, as Mayor of Davao city, he looked into the camera like Clint Eastwood and told his constituents 'Shoot looters and thieves in the foot--if you shoot them in the foot, I won't bring charges against you. And if you don't have a gun, break their legs and call the police."
Need I actually say that there was, essentially, ZERO looting in areas friendly to Duterte?
So he did much the same in terms of the drug-related crime here. He basically put a soft bounty on drug dealers and people engaged in drug-related crime (10,000pesos, or about $200, for a wounding-and-detainment of drug-related criminals, and up to 50,000pesos for drug dealers, I think--I don't remember the details). In Cebu City, on the first day following Duterte's proclamation, I think three or four drug dealers were killed by off-duty cops during the commission of crimes (assault, theft, something else...details escape me since it's been the better part of a year now).
So it's not like he's empowering Death Squads, complete with skull masks, to go around killing people. It's very much a Wild West type of system, and I think the total number of drug-related deaths (of suspected criminals IN THE COMMISSION OF CRIMES) is up to like 6,000 since he took office.
The landscape here is RADICALLY different, though. You need to understand that, first off. For example, if a <18 year old kid threatens you with a gun and steals your car, you literally can't do ANYTHING physical to him or you go to jail. It's an old rule from the Aquino takeover post-Marcos, and it's predictably been abused to the hilt by criminals who enlist young teenage boys to do ALL of their stealing while the adult stands watch over the affair from a short remove. I've seen gangs of kids jump into truck beds, with pistols tucked in their belts, to steal shovels/axes/whatever was in the back of the pickup. So a little perspective is important, I think.
It's *that* environment that prompted the Filipinos to elect Duterte with a pretty clear mandate (40% of the vote in an open, Parliamentarian system that routinely sees low-30%'s win) to restore law and order.