Palace asks US support in drug war

MALACAÑANG on Saturday appealed to the United States to give its support to the Philippines on its staunch fight against illegal drugs.

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella, in a statement, told the US State Department that the Duterte administration would fulfill its obligation to protect the Filipinos against risks illegal drugs could bring, while upholding their human rights.

Abella also maintained that summary executions in the Philippines are "unlawful and not state-sanctioned."

"The Philippine government will not shirk from its duty to protect the Filipino people, and ensure that they have a secure, peaceful, and bountiful future. We hope the international community will support us in this effort," Abella said.

"The Philippine government is firmly committed to upholding human rights. Vigilante or extrajudicial killings are unlawful and are therefore not sanctioned," he added.

The presidential spokesman made the remark after the US State Department released its annual Human Rights report, which documents rights conditions in about 200 countries.

The report showed that the Philippine National Police and vigilante groups "killed more than 6,000 suspected drug dealers and users" since Duterte assumed office in July 2016.

It also noted that the extrajudicial killings in the country have "increased sharply."

Abella said the international community should realize that the President's crackdown on narcotics trade "is an urgent and critical domestic matter."

Abella said the government has to combat illicit drug sale by using legal means. He also assured that it would hold liable all those who are behind the killings of suspected drug personalities, which are deemed as performed through illegitimate operations.

"An emerging narco state impinges on every Filipino citizen’s right to live in peace and should be dealt with firmly, in conformity to the country’s established human rights principles and in accordance with the rule of law," Abella said.

"The President has ordered the appropriate law enforcement institutions to take decisive legal steps to ensure accountability. We will arrest, investigate, prosecute and punish the scalawags in uniform, while also pursuing reform in these institutions so that they can more effectively conduct this noble crusade," he added.