Police kill hundreds as the Philippines’ new President Rodrigo Duterte orders war on drugs
Duterte determined to continue wave of extra-judicial killings despite pleas from the UN to end extreme anti-drug campaign
THE UN has called for the president of the Philippines to end the wave of extra-judicial killings being carried out as part of an extreme anti-drug campaign.
The plea comes as the nation’s police revealed they were behind the deaths of approximately 600 drug suspects since the start of July.
Local media sources believe the real number is well over 1,000 when killings by vigilante gangs are taken into account.
The spate of killings began the moment new president Rodrigo Duterte took office just under two months ago following a landslide election victory.
Duterte won based on his promise to launch a “bloody war” on drugs.
Following his election victory, more than 500,000 addicts and pushers have “surrendered” to authorities, signing contracts and undertaking oaths to stop using drugs.
The surrenders are obtained during “knock and ask” operations, and often take place in some of the country’s poorest neighbourhoods, where use of methamphetamines is rife.
During a speech at a police ceremony in Quezon City earlier this week, President Duterte taunted the UN, saying they should address conflict in the Middle East before criticising him.
He told the audience he would stand trial on behalf of police officers if they were accused of unlawful killing.
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He said: "If their resistance is violent, if you fear for your life when making an arrest, shoot him, and shoot him dead - can I be clearer than that?"
The campaign is based on the similarly unrelenting approach President Duterte took when tackling crime in southern-Filipino city Davao, where he was mayor for over 20 years.
But calls for softer policy are growing, from within the Philippines as well as internationally.
Ex-justice secretary Senator Leila De Lima looks set to launch an inquiry into the killings – a decision that has already attracted criticism from the new President, who has described her as an “immoral woman”.
Senator De Lima told the popularity of the extra-judicial killings reflects a deeper problem.
She said: "There are misfits in all the structures of our government - law enforcers, prosecutors and judges.
“That's why our justice system is broken, and that is why these shortcuts are being encouraged.”
Despite this, President Duterte remains determined to continue – promising police officers double salaries by the end of the year for their role in the campaign.
He has also threatened to place meth addicts – who he describes as being “no longer viable human beings”, in “rehab camps” on military bases across the country.
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