Inside the squalid prison that houses 3,800 inmates amid fears Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war is pushing jails to ‘breaking point’
There have been 40,000 arrests since July alone
FILIPINO president Rodrigo Duterte's drugs war is pushing the country's jails to the limit, it has been revealed - following 40,000 arrests since July alone.
Shocking photographs show convicted drug dealers packed into cells at Quezon City Jail, in the capital Manila - while some sleep in recreation areas due to a severe lack of space.
Meanwhile, over 130 prisoners are forced to sleep in cells built for no more than 30 people - with as many as ten sharing a single bunk.
Now, China has pledged funds for a new detention facility in the Philippines as part of its support for President Duterte's drug war.
The campaign, which even includes a ban on smoking, has also led to 8,000 deaths since July - mostly street dealers and users, who according to police resisted arrest.
However, others were killed by vigilantes - prompting Duterte to deny the police are carrying out unlawful killings.
Critics of Duterte's violent approach to drug use - which he says is driven by abuse he suffered as a child - have called upon the president to ensure the campaign is carried out lawfully, and to punish any police who enforce the law illegally.
But earlier this week, 71-year-old Duterte vowed to continue killing until Filipinos stop taking drugs in a chilling Christmas message to the nation.
In September, he even compared his crackdown to the Holocaust - and later claimed he personally killed suspected criminals when he was mayor to set an example for police.
He said: "They say there have been a lot of killings, executions and extrajudicial killings. You want these to end?
"It’s simple. You drug users should stop.
"Stop it and there will be a peaceful New Year and Christmas."
He then added: "I am not a killer. I do not relish or enjoy seeing a Filipino sprawled there with all the blood.
"I do not offer any excuses or apologies. I will answer God when I face him.
"I cannot explain every death in this country. But if you tell me to hold back, I cannot because I cannot afford it.
"I cannot now stop the momentum with the four million drug addicts spread all throughout the country."