![Family and friends of Alvin John Mendoza mourn as they spend their last moments with him on the day of his funeral on October 23, 2016. Mendoza, 23, was killed by unidentified riding-in-tandem gunmen while he was eating in a canteen near his home. Image by Eloisa Lopez. Philippines, 2016. A family and friends of the deceased grieve standing before an open casket.](/sites/default/files/02-20-17/jamesfenton.jpg)
Writer James Fenton discusses his recent reporting for the New York Review of Books on the war on drugs in the Philippines under President Duterte. Fenton went out into the slums of Manila between 9 pm and 4:30 am to pursue ledes—he found it "a rough story to cover." The number of of casualties in this violent war reached 7,000 in the seven month period following the president's election. The majority are poor males who take crystal meth.