26 killed in second night of violent police ops

MANILA: At least 26 people died overnight in police operations in the Philippines capital Manila, police said, following a second night of heavy bloodshed this week in an intensification of President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs and crime.

The killings across Manila yesterday followed 32 deaths in nearsimultaneous 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.

Colonel Erwin Margarejo, a spokesman for Manila police, described the raids as “one-time, bigtime” operations – the same term used by police in Bulacan, who said the victims died because they chose to 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,” Margarejo said.

It was not immediately clear what was behind the step-up in the number of coordinated police operations this week, but Duterte said it was good that 32 criminals had been killed in Bulacan.

“Let’s kill another 32 every day. Maybe we can reduce what ails this country,” he added. — Reuters