At least 60 killed in 3 days
PHILIPPINES - Police killed at least 28 people overnight in a crackdown in the Philippines capital Manila, authorities said on Thursday, a second night of heavy bloodshed this week in an intensification of President Rodrigo Duterte’s fierce war on drugs and crime. The killings across Manila followed 32 deaths in 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, since Duterte took office over a year ago. Colonel Erwin Margarejo, spokesman for Manila police, described the raids that started late Wednesday in Manila as “one-time, big-time” operations, the same term used by police in Bulacan, who said the victims died because they chose to put up a fight. The term has been used by Philippines police to describe a coordinated anti-crime drive in crime-prone districts, usually slums or low-income neighbourhoods, often with additional police deployed. It was however not immediately clear what was behind the step-up in the number of coordinated police operations this week. According to police reports, a total of 223 people were arrested in Manila and Bulacan. The reports said police launched 84 operations in the two regions, the majority of which were “buy-bust” stings, in which plain-clothes officers attempt to trap drug peddlers. There were no reports of any police casualties. “The president did not instruct me to kill and kill,” national police chief Ronald dela Rosa told reporters. “I also don’t have any instructions to my men to kill and kill. But the instruction coming from the president is very clear that our war on drugs is unrelenting. Those who were killed fought back.” Duterte unleashed his crackdown the day he took office on June 30 last year after a convincing win in an election in which he campaigned heavily on a promise to use deadly force to wipe out crime and drugs. On Wednesday, he indicated the latest operations had his blessing. Duterte said it was good that 32 criminals had been killed in Bulacan, then added: “Let’s kill another 32 every day. Maybe we can reduce what ails this country.” On Thursday, he said he would not just pardon police officers who killed drug offenders during the antinarcotics campaign, but also promote them. Chito Gascon, the chairman of the Philippine Commission on Human Rights, said Duterte’s comments emboldened police “to do their worst.” “The police are essentially free to do what they will because they are almost guaranteed that they will not be investigated or charged,” Gascon said.
Vice President Leni Robredo, who is from a political party opposed to Duterte, sharply criticised the killings and said it was “something to be outraged about”.
(Reuters)