26 killed in Manila as drug war geared up
AT LEAST 26 people died overnight in police operations in the Philippine capital of Manila, police said on Thursday, a second night of heavy bloodshed this week in an intensification of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s fierce war on drugs and crime.
The killings across Manila followed 32 deaths in near-simultaneous police raids on Monday night in Bulacan province, which borders the capital.
Together, they mark the deadliest period of a drugs- focused crackdown that has killed thousands of Filipinos, and caused international alarm, since Mr. Duterte took office over a year ago.
Col. Erwin Margarejo, spokesman for the Manila police, described the raids that started late Wednesday in Manila as “onetime, big- time” operations, the same term used by police in Bulacan who said the victims died because they put up a fight.
“This is ‘ one- time, big- time’ operations, so it is not focused only on drugs, we are operating also against other street crimes, like robbery, but these people could also be under the influence of drugs,” Mr. Margarejo said. “If they resisted violently, our police have to defend themselves.”
Mr. Duterte unleashed his crackdown the day he took office on June 30 last year after a convincing win in an election in which he campaigned heavily on a promise to use deadly force to wipe out crime and drugs.
It was not immediately clear what was behind the step-up in the number of coordinated police operations this week, but Mr. Duterte gave a clear indication on Wednesday that it had his blessing.
He said it was good that 32 criminals had been killed in Bulacan, then added: “Let’s kill another 32 every day. Maybe we can reduce what ails this country.” — Reuters, with