US troubled by rising EJKs in PH

The United States said on Thursday that it was troubled by the growing number of extrajudicial killings (EJKs) in President Duterte’s war on drugs and called on Manila to stick to its commitment to investigate them.

Close to 9,000 people, mostly drug users and small-time dealers, have been killed since Mr. Duterte took office almost 10 months ago and promised an unrelenting campaign to rid the country of illicit narcotics.

Police said about a third of the victims were shot by officers in self-defense.

Human rights groups believed many of the remaining two-thirds were killed by paid assassins cooperating with the police or by police themselves, disguised as vigilantes.

The government and police have rejected that.

Patrick Murphy, the US deputy assistant secretary of state for Southeast Asia, said Washington shared Manila’s objective of eliminating the scourge of illicit drugs and wanted to help.

“We, however, do have a very sustained and deep concern when elements of the drug war are operating outside the rule of law,” Murphy told reporters. “The growing number of extrajudicial killings is troubling.”

“We are urging the Philippines to follow up on its commitment to investigate extrajudicial killings whether they are committed by law enforcement, or of a vigilante nature,” he added.

Murphy did concede that the Philippines faced a serious chal- lenge when it came to narcotics.

“It is eroding communities. It is closely linked to crimes of a wide nature, including killings. Wehave a drug problem here in the US, so not only do we sympathize but we want to work together in addressing the objectives of eliminating the scourge of illicit drugs. And we can help the Philippines with drug rehabilitation, with the traffic and flow of narcotics across borders and the like,” he said.

In response to Murphy’s statement, Foreign Affairs spokesperson Robespierre Bolivar assured that President Duterte has called for an investigation and the prosecution of those involved in EJKs.

“The government has been firm in its condemnation or extrajudicial killings,” Bolivar said. “The campaign against illegal drugs is being waged with firm adherence to the country’s established human rights principles and in accordance with the rule of law.”