Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has acknowledged abuses in a war on illegal drugs, betgaranti which has left more than 400 people dead in a month and alarmed rights activists, but refused to back down from a shoot-to-kill order for drug suspects.
‘My order is shoot to kill you.I don’t care about human rights, you better believe me,’ said Duterte, a 71-year-old former government prosecutor.
Duterte said in his speech late on Thursday that most drug dealers and addicts slain in gunbattles with police had put up a fight, but added that he was sure some were ‘salvaged,’ a local slang for extrajudicial killings usually by law enforcers.
In the case of illegal killings, Duterte said the government will investigate.
The corpse of a suspected drug lord and victim of a vigilante-style execution with his head wrapped in tape lies on a street on July 28
The corpse of a suspected house thief and victim of a vigilante-style execution with his limbs tied and head wrapped with tape is seen on an empty lot on July 27, in Pasay, Philippines.A sign next to the corpse reads ‘I am a house thief, do not imitate me’
Police investigators inspect the corpse of a suspected drug pusher and victim of a vigilante-style execution with his body wrapped in plastic and tape on a street in Makati
Relatives weep over the corpse of a suspected drug pusher after he was shot dead following a police operation on August 3, 2016 in Manila
‘They really fight back, I know that,’ Duterte said in a speech in southern Davao city, where he built a name as a mayor for his extra tough approach to crime before winning the presidency on June 30.’I’m sure there are some who were salvaged, I am also sure of that.’
Early Friday, he told reporters that he gave ‘shoot-to-kill’ orders against drug dealers, including politicians involved in the illicit trade.
‘I’ll really have you killed.Look at what you’re doing to the Philippines and I’ll forgive you?’ Duterte told reporters, apparently enraged after visiting a town police chief who was shot in the chest by a suspected drug dealer and rushed to a Davao hospital.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has acknowledged abuses in a war on illegal drugs but won’t change his ‘shoot-to-kill’ instructions
A member of the police’s homicide division takes pictures of the corpse of a suspected drug pusher after he was shot dead following a police operation on July 18, in Manila
A police investigator shows recovered sachets of crystal meth known locally as ‘shabu’ and cash money next to the corpse of a suspected drug pusher after he was shot dead
Police investigators inspect empty bullet shells scattered on the ground as the corpse of a suspected drug runner is seen outside a store after he was shot dead by unidentified gunmen on August 1, in Quezon city
Police inspect the corpse of a suspected drug pusher and victim of a vigilante-style execution with his body wrapped in plastic and tape on a street on July 29, in Makati
A member of the police’s homicide division inspects the corpse of a suspected drug addict and victim of a vigilante-style execution with his hands tied and head wrapped with tape on a street on July 27, in Pasay
Duterte pledged to kill thousands in an all-out war against drugs, an election promise that helped win him the presidency by a massive margin in a country where drugs and crime are deeply-rooted
A member of the police’s homicide division takes pictures of the corpse of a suspected house thief and victim of a vigilante-style execution
Duterte’s centerpiece anticrime drive, focused on an ambitious campaign promise to end the widespread drugs problem in six months, has left more than 400 drug suspects dead, many of them either in firefights with police or under suspect circumstances.More than 4,400 have been arrested, police said.
The unprecedented killings have scared more than half a million drug users and dealers who gave themselves up to police, officials said.An overwhelmed Duterte has said he was considering to set aside some areas in military camps nationwide to build rehabilitation centers for those who surrender.
A legal expert, Jose Manuel Diokno, said Duterte’s latest shoot-to-kill order is, at the least, legally questionable.
Adequate safeguards exist in the country’s legal system, including requirements for court warrants for arrests, to protect the public and ensure law enforcers are not given ‘unbridled discretion’ that can lead to abuses, Diokno said.
A resident covers the face of a suspected drug pusher who was shot dead following a police operation on July 18, as children gather around the grim scene
A sign that reads ‘I am a carnapper and drug addict, do not imitate me’ is seen next to the corpse of a suspected drug addict
The corpse of a suspected drug pusher and victim of a vigilante-style execution with his hands tied and head wrapped with tape is pictured under a bridge
Police inspect the belongings of a suspected drug lord and victim of a vigilante-style execution with his head wrapped in tape
Morgue personnel load the the corpse of a suspected drug pusher and victim of a vigilante-style execution
Relatives of a suspected drug pusher weep after he was shot dead following a police operation on August 3, in Manila
A women cries as she holds onto a young man after their relative was shot dead after being accused of being involved with drugs
The government’s Commission on Human Rights could seek to stop the anti-crime drive through a court petition, said Diokno, who heads the Free Legal Assistance Group, a nongovernment group that provides legal help to the poor.
Sen. Leila de Lima, who led the commission previously, has sought a senate investigation of the killings but has faced opposition from Duterte’s political allies.She said she supports the battle against drugs but condemned the widespread killings.
‘There must be a way other than this method that brings us to our collective descent into impunity, fear, and ultimately, utter and complete inhumanity.We cannot wage the war against drugs with blood,’ de Lima said in a senate speech this week.
A police officer stands guard outside a house where three suspected drug pushers were shot dead following a police operation in Manila
A picture shows members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) lifting a dead body following a police operation against illegal drugs in the town of Plaridel, in Bulacan province
Yury Fedotov, executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has condemned the ‘reports of extrajudicial killing of suspected drug dealers and users’ in the Philippines
She said the dead included those who were innocent and ‘the proportion is rising.’
Horrific photos show men shot and left to bleed out on busy streets and mutilated corpses dumped in vacant lots.
Hundreds of people have died since Duterte won a landslide election in May, promising to rid society of drugs and crime in six months by killing tens of thousands of criminals.
Police figures showed this week that 402 drug suspects had been killed since Duterte was sworn in at the end of June.That figure does not include those slain by suspected vigilantes.
The wife of a suspected drug pusher and victim of a vigilante-style execution grieves over the corpse of her husband during a burial ceremony on August 3
Relatives of a suspected drug pusher and victim of a vigilante-style execution grieve while wearing white and as they carry flowers during a burial ceremony on August 3, in Pasay
Filipino widow Genair Bumagat (second right) is seen grieving next to the coffin of her husband, Police officer Edgar Bumagat, who was shot by an alleged drug dealer during an operation against illegal drugs, in Makati city
The country’s top broadcaster, ABS-CBN, reported that 603 people had been killed since Duterte’s May election, with 211 murdered by unidentified gunmen.
Anti-narcotics and human rights groups from different parts of the world, on Wednesday, appealed to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) to condemn Duterte’s war on drugs.
In statements from groups such as the Australian Drug Foundation and Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, they called on Duterte to stop the killings and ensure the protection and rights of people who use drugs.
In one viral image summing up the human cost, a young woman howls in pain as she cradles her partner’s blood-soaked body under the glare of television lights as horrified bystanders look on from behind yellow police crime tape.
This man was attacked by anti-drug vigilantes as he drove his tricycle, his body left hanging from the humble vehicle as blood dripped onto the street
A Filipino crime scene investigator conducts an investigation where the body of a suspected drug dealer, who was shot dead by an unidentified gunman, lies in a street in Pasay City, south of Manila, on 04 August
Anti-narcotics and human rights groups from different parts of the world, on Wednesday, appealed to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) to condemn Duterte’s war on drugs
Filipino crime scene investigators conduct an investigation into a dead body as crowds gather around the police tape
This photo taken on July 8, shows police officers investigating the body of an alleged drug dealer with his face covered with packing tape, with a cardboard sign on him reading ‘I’m a pusher’, at a street in Manila
Police figures showed this week that the death toll in Duterte’s war on drugs has risen to 402
‘My husband was innocent.He never hurt anyone,’ Jennilyn Olayres said of her partner Michael Siaron, 30, a tricycle driver – refuting the crude cardboard poster left behind by the motorcycle-riding gunmen killers saying ‘drug pusher’.
Police raids of suspected drug dealers’ hideouts have led to near-nightly deaths.Most of the dead suspects – often found face-down in pools of blood – had pistols lying next to them in the act of resisting arrest, according to authorities.
Suspected sympathy killings by anti-drug vigilantes have also left a trail of death.One man was attacked as he drove his tricycle, his body left hanging from the humble vehicle as blood dripped onto the street.
Groups such as the Australian Drug Foundation and Canadian Drug Policy Coalition have called on Duterte to stop the killings and ensure the protection and rights of people who use drugs
Filipino residents view a the body of a suspected drug dealer, who was shot dead by an unidentified gunman at a street in Pasay City
This photo, taken on July 28, shows police officers carrying the body of an alleged drug dealer shot dead by police during a drug bust operation in Manila
Jennilyn Olayres is pictured grieving beside the coffin of her partner Michael Siaron after he was found dead in the streets of Manila with a crude cardboard poster left behind by the motorcycle-riding gunmen killers saying ‘drug pusher’, betgaranti a claim she refutes
Relatives of a tricycle driver are seen grieving after he was killed by unidentified gunman for being an alleged drug dealer in Manila
The distraught relatives of a tricycle driver are pictured after he was gunned down, his body left to hang over his vehicle
Other people have simply turned up dead in deserted streets and vacant lots at night, their faces cocooned in packaging tape and with cardboard signs accusing them of being drug dealers hanging on their chests.
At his first ‘State of the Nation’ address to Congress, Duterte defended his anti-crime campaign and described the scene at Siaron’s shooting as a parody of Michelangelo’s 15th century Pieta marble sculpture.
‘And betgaranti there you are, dead and portrayed in a broadsheet like Mother Mary cradling the dead cadaver of Jesus Christ,’ the president said, describing the tableau as ‘drama’.
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