God told me to stop cursing: Duterte

koronadal (Philippines) — A Philippine town mayor who was publicly identified by President Rodrigo Duterte as a drug trafficking suspect was gunned down on Friday with nine of his men at a police checkpoint, in one of the bloodiest operations since the crackdown was launched.

Little over a month after he took office on a promise to rid the Philippines of illegal drugs, Duterte in August read out the names of more than 150 officials allegedly linked to illegal drugs, among them Mayor Samsudin Dimaukom of Datu Saudi Ampatuan township in southern Maguindanao province.

The mayor had turned himself in to police and denied he was involved in the illegal drug trade. He had told the media that he was fighting illegal drugs himself and supported Duterte’s crackdown.

At dawn on Friday, Dimaukom and the nine others were killed they opened fire from three cars on officers at a checkpoint in Makilala town in North Cotabato province, Superintendent Bernard Tayong said.

“It was a legitimate anti-drug operation but the subjects opened fire on our troops,” regional police official Superintendent Romeo Galgo Jr. told reporters.

Police said they had received information that Dimaukom’s group was planning to transport a “huge” amount of methamphetamine — a prohibited and extremely addictive stimulant drug locally known as shabu — from Davao city, Duterte’s hometown, to Datu Saudi Ampatuan town.

Police estimate more than 3,600 suspected drug dealers and addicts have been killed since Duterte took office on June 30. The crackdown has drawn international concern over extrajudicial killings. — AP