The deadly drug war waged by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is to be dramatized in the first Netflix series by award-winning director Brillante Mendoza, who says the internationally-condemned crackdown is “necessary”. Mendoza has previously lent his directing skills to the Duterte regime. In September 2016, the Presidential Communications Office released a series of anti-drug videos, depicting drug use as life-shattering, which Mendoza directed for the state. Mendoza has also been the director of Duterte’s last two State of the Union Addresses, in 2016 and 2017. The international criminal court has launched an initial inquiry into allegations of crimes against humanity committed by President Duterte in his brutal anti-drugs crusade.