‘Criticism of drug war not meant to unseat Rody’

of President Duterte’s anti-illegal drugs campaign were not intended to bring down his administration, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said yesterday.

In an interview over Churchrun Radio Veritas, CBCP president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates-Villegas explained that the Church has two missions.

First, it is a prophet that teaches what the faithful should denounce and the second, it promotes healing between people, Villegas said.

“I hope that you see the church, if it would speak against these bad things that are happening, that is not intended to topple anyone. But it intends to correct and since it would be corrected, things will improve,” he added.

The bishop’s statement came on the heels of the spate of extrajudicial killings (EJKs) that are said to be the product of the government’s intensified campaign against illegal drugs.

Church leaders have spoken out against the alleged summary execution of 17-year-old Kian Loyd delos Santos.

Wake-up call

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said the death of Delos Santos should serve as a wake-up call against EJKs.

“Kian’s killing should serve as a signal to end the support for senseless killings as a result of police operations,” the CHR said.

The CHR also welcomed the commitment of Duterte to hold responsible the police officers involved in the killing of Delos Santos.