Palace slams Reuters report on Davao boys as ‘foul, one-sided’

MALACAÑANG on Wednesday, December 20, took a swipe at foreign news agency Reuters for its report about the socalled “Davao Boys,” a group of police officers from Davao City who were allegedly tasked to carry out “lethal” antidrug operations.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. slammed the report as “foul” and “one-sided.” He also criticized Reuters for allegedly demanding prompt response from the executive department.

“That was a foul report,” Roque said in a statement.

“Reporter demanded our version within the hour at 11 a.m. yesterday (December 19). We said we couldn’t because of our briefing. So that story did not get our side. No comment to one-sided story,” he added.

On Wednesday, December 19, Reuters published a special report titled, “How a secretive police squad racked up kills in Duterte’s drug war,” which detailed how a small group of police officers from Davao was formed to conduct President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly drug war.

Reuters reported that around eight members of the Davao Boys, who were transferred to Quezon City Police District Station 6, were behind the deaths of 62 of 108 individuals in line with the anti-narcotics war.

It said this only showed an “intimate portrait of how a secretive anti-drug unit mobilized and killed — then vanished to await new orders.”

“After arriving in Quezon City, the Davao Boys were quickly involved in dozens of kills in what police described as legitimate drug busts, but relatives, human rights monitors and lawyers say were often executions,” the report read.

“The story of the Davao Boys also highlights a larger dynamic: Many of the drug war’s key police officers hail from or served in President Duterte’s hometown, where the campaign’s brutal methods originated during his time as mayor,” it added.

In the report, Reuters noted that the presidential office and the Philippine National Police “had not replied” to their queries.

Since he assumed presidency in June 2016, Duterte has waged a relentless campaign against illegal drugs, which police said has so far resulted in the deaths of more than 3,000 suspected drug personalities,

Even before he became president, Duterte, as Davao City mayor, had launched an anti-drugs crackdown in his home province. (Ruth Abbey Gita/ SunStar Philippines)