MANILA, Philippines - Since Rodrigo Duterte became president of the Philippines just over a month ago, promising to get tough on crime by having the police and the military kill drug suspects, 420 people have been killed in the campaign, according to tallies of police reports by the local news media. Most were killed in confrontations with the police, while 154 were killed by unidentified vigilantes. Addressing Congress last week in his first State of the Nation address, Mr. Duterte reiterated his take-no-prisoners approach, ordering the police to "triple" their efforts against crime. [continues 153 words]
MANILA - Since Rodrigo Duterte became president of the Philippines just over a month ago, promising to get tough on crime by having the police and the military kill drug suspects, 420 people have been killed in the campaign, according to tallies of police reports by the local news media. Most were killed in confrontations with the police, while 154 were killed by unidentified vigilantes. This has prompted 114,833 people to turn themselves in, as either drug addicts or dealers, since Duterte took office, according to national police logs. [continues 375 words]
MORE than 300 anti-narcotics and human rights groups from around the world yesterday called for the UN to condemn Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs that has already killed hundreds of people. The appeal, directed to the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), came as an influential Philippine senator called for an investigation into the killings of suspected drug pushers that Duterte has endorsed. Senator Leila de Lima and the foreign organisations cited reports of police killing hundreds of people since Duterte won May elections largely on a platform to wage a violent war on drugs. [continues 247 words]
MANILA, Philippines - Since Rodrigo Duterte became president of the Philippines just over a month ago, promising to get tough on crime by having the police and the military kill drug suspects, 420 people have been killed in the campaign, according to tallies of police reports by the local news media. Most were killed in confrontations with the police, while 154 were killed by unidentified vigilantes. This has prompted 114,833 people to turn themselves in, as either drug addicts or dealers, since Duterte took office, according to national police logs. [continues 207 words]
IN HIS first State of the Nation Address (Sona), among the memorable lines that President Rodrigo Duterte said was, "human rights must work to uplift human dignity. But human rights cannot be used as a shield or an excuse to destroy the country-your country and my country." Michael Moore, the American documentary filmmaker and author known for his critique of the current state of American politics, economics and culture, featured dealing with drug addiction in his production "Where to Invade Next," which is premised on the idea of identifying and "stealing great ideas" of other countries that could be brought back to the United States-hence the notion of invasion, but minus the violence that it usually entails. [continues 578 words]
Human Rights Groups Call on UN to Condemn Deaths Anti-Drug Drive 'Excuse for Killings' Say Campaigners More than 700 suspected drug users or dealers have been summarily executed by police or vigilantes in the Philippines in less than three months, say human rights campaigners, who are calling on the UN to denounce the killings. Human Rights Watch, Stop Aids and International HIV/Aids Alliance are among more than 300 civil society groups that have signed joint letters to the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), urging them to speak out. [continues 569 words]
PERHAPS WHAT so turned off PDu30 about the front-page INQUIRER photo of the body of Michael Siaron cradled in the arms of his weeping widow Jennilyn Olayres, which he dismissed as "drama" during his State of the Nation Address no less, was that it gave a "face" to his war against drugs. And that is the human face of the Duterte campaign: a grieving widow, a slain young man, and a populace that could do nothing but look on as police waited for operatives to process the crime scene. [continues 874 words]
The apprehended person was unarmed and, according to the police, handcuffed as he was pushed into a vehicle of the Highway Patrol Group. What dire threat could he have posed to the HPG members that warranted the use of lethal force? John dela Riarte allegedly displayed aggressive behavior when he was accosted by the HPG after the motorcycle he was driving figured in an accident with a car last Friday morning in Makati. How hard is it for several cops to subdue one unarmed man? [continues 285 words]
MANILA, Philippines - Since Rodrigo Duterte became president of the Philippines just over a month ago, promising to get tough on crime by having the police and the military kill drug suspects, 420 people have been killed in the campaign, according to tallies of police reports by the local news media. Most were killed in confrontations with the police, while 154 were killed by unidentified vigilantes. This has prompted 114,833 people to turn themselves in, as either drug addicts or dealers, since Duterte took office, according to national police logs. [continues 336 words]
NO ONE claims to support the killing of the innocent, but it seems that many are willing to leave the judgment of innocence to the police and the vigilantes. Even worse, many are seeing death itself as proof of one's guilt. "He must have been a drug pusher," said some netizens of Emmanuel Jose Pavia, the Ateneo High School teacher who was shot and killed in Marikina. "They were killed because they deserved it. Kill pa more!" exclaimed one commenter on one of the many reports-now commonplace-on the corpses of suspected drug pushers found in the streets. [continues 869 words]
Case of 'Cardboard Justice' Assailed That is the message of Jennilyn Olayres to President Duterte, whose war on illegal drugs had taken the life of her husband, Michael Siaron. Olayres (not Olaires as earlier reported) will bury her husband on Wednesday, 11 days after motorcycle-riding men shot him dead at Pasay Rotunda on Edsa and Taft Avenue. She conceded Siaron, 29, was a drug user, but she said it was impossible that he was a dealer because they were too poor and could barely pay for their next meal. [continues 872 words]
Next week in Washington, a Filipino quality will be highlighted in an assembly of young leaders from around the world. It's "calidad humana" a term coined by Chile's former ambassador to Manila, Roberto Mayorga, to describe the ordinary Filipino's compassion and humaneness that he has found so remarkable because, he says, it is rapidly disappearing in many societies including his own. The term, as Mayorga acknowledges, defies exact translation; the closest he can think of in Filipino is [continues 991 words]
A religious group regularly visits the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) to preach love and hope to inmates and offer women and illegal drugs on the side, according to reports reaching Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II. "We have found out some of the possibly religious personnel who were conducting preaching inside the penitentiary have been used to bring drugs as well as prostitutes inside the penitentiary," Aguirre said, citing information he received from a member of a non-government organization and three NBP guards who visited him recently. [continues 717 words]
A FRIEND from my college years now based in Cagayan de Oro messaged me for help. His activist friend working in an LGU was surprised to find his name included in a list of suspected drug lords. He vouches that his friend is clean and is a victim of false information made by the mayor's political rivals. This message comes at a time when we are seeing distressing news on President Duterte's war on drugs and crime. At first, news of drug users and peddlers surrendering en masse, the relief of top ranking police chiefs for alleged protecting of drug lords and the cleanup of Bilibid were reasons to cheer. [continues 418 words]
IN his first State of the Nation Address (Sona) among the memorable lines that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte said were: "human rights must work to uplift human dignity. But human rights cannot be used as a shield or an excuse to destroy the country your country and my country" these, and the many statements that referred to illegal drugs. Michael Moore, the American documentary filmmaker and author known for his critique of the current state of American politics, economics and culture, featured dealing with drug addiction in his production "Where to Invade Next", a documentary premised on the idea of identifying and "stealing great ideas" of other countries that could be brought back to the United States--hence the notion of invasion, but minus the violence that it usually entails. [continues 574 words]
Corazon Aquino unleashed the freedom fighter in the Pinoy. Fidel Ramos unleashed the team spirit. Rodrigo Duterte is unleashing... our inner homicidal maniac? Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I can't help wondering if this "killing time" under Dirty Rody emboldened Army reservist Von Tanto to shoot that biker with whom he had a vehicular altercation Monday night. CCTV footage showed Tanto not just shooting to kill rather than wound, but finishing off Mark Vincent Geralde as the biker lay dying on the pavement. A stray bullet apparently hit and critically wounded a teenage girl standing in front of her house nearby. [continues 992 words]
All told, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte's first State of the Nation Address (SONA) really inspires hope for a better Philippines in the future. The "show" at the Batasan looks so authentic and natural indeed, devoid of any semblance of artificiality. What we saw is what we got especially the persona of Duterte as a man of the masses to whom most Filipinos can relate. He really looks so sincere and raring to tackle his job as he entered the halls of Congress in Barong Tagalog with rolled up sleeves. [continues 1047 words]
PRESIDENT Duterte's State of the Nation Address (Sona) was laced with confusing and sometimes contradictory messages. At one point he stated rightly that the "rule of law must at all times prevail" and that government is obliged to "fulfill the human rights of our citizens." However, President Duterte's unwillingness to use his Sona to direct a thorough investigation into the alarming surge in the killings of suspected drug dealers and users in recent weeks, allegedly by the police, symbolizes a critical failure on his part to fulfill his obligation to defend the rule of law and to uphold and protect the rights and freedoms of all Filipinos. [continues 202 words]
MOMENTS after presiding over his first National Security Council meeting on Wednesday, President Duterte called on local government officials to support his war against illegal drugs, warning that unless the scourge is eliminated, it will haunt the three succeeding administrations. No details of the five-hour long council meeting-attended by former Presidents Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Benigno Aquino III, Vice President Leni Robredo, Cabinet secretaries and leaders of Congress-were revealed. Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III, briefing reporters yesterday, confirmed that the drug problem was among three major issues tackled, but that Mr. Duterte had requested participants to keep sensitive issues to themselves. [continues 728 words]
RIGHT TO LIFE being inherent in the human person, the many believers in the sanctity of life are not likely to withdraw their call that suspected users of illegal drugs be given a chance to be heard before being silenced on the spot by a bullet. There are many circumstances that an arresting police officer must sort out in his mind a split-second before pulling the trigger on a suspected drug-user/pusher who is still presumed innocent under the law. [continues 831 words]
President Rodrigo Duterte's campaign promise to eradicate the menace of illegal drugs in the country from three to six months may soon be realized at the rate the police are cracking the whip on drug lords and pushers. As of the latest count, there are already 312 dead, 3,228 arrested, 120,209 who surrendered and 63,972 houses raided. The government is turning the tide on its bloody war against drugs. "This will be a fight to the death," said PNP chief Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa, who declared total war on drugs. He also warned police officers who are involved in drugs not to push their luck too much or else suffer the same fate as the drug lords. [continues 324 words]
EVER since the President won on a platform of ridding this country of drugs and crime, we have heard it said: this is not a war on drugs; it is a war on the poor. This is a violation of human rights, a violation of the rights of the poor to due process, their right to life, their right to live. Human rights are the soul of the country, said the Vice President. This President has no sense of what human rights are about, say critics. Media spins these deaths: they are all poor! The chairmen of Barangays Bel-Air, Dasmarinas, Forbes Park, San Lorenzo, and Urdaneta sign are no drug users and pushers in posh villages. [continues 770 words]
OUR new president, Rodrigo Duterte, asked us that he be given three to six months to eradicate the problem of drug trafficking and abuse that's plaguing our country. The number of casualties in the ongoing war against drugs, which is hardly a month-old, has alarmed the Commission on Human Rights and some citizens. Can we really win a war against drugs? We've been fighting this war for years, but illegal drugs remain within reach of anybody who wants to use them. What if the proliferation of drugs is not the real problem but just a "symptom"? [continues 189 words]
UNITED States Secretary of State John Kerry mentioned the need to protect civil and human rights during talks on a wide range of issues yesterday with President Duterte and Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay. In a press briefing, Palace spokesperson Ernesto Abella said Kerry brought up the matter then listened "very intently" to the President's explanation of his drive against criminality. Before meeting with the President, Kerry held a joint press conference with Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay and spoke of the need to protect people's rights even as authorities seek to uphold peace and order. [continues 193 words]
The Senate is set to investigate the rising incidence of extrajudicial killings of alleged drug pushers even as President Duterte has vowed there will be no letup in his anti-drug campaign. The inquiry will be spearheaded by the Senate committee on justice and human rights, chaired by Sen. Leila de Lima, along with Sen. Panfilo Lacson as chairman of the committee on public order and dangerous drugs. De Lima earlier filed Resolution No. 9 seeking an investigation into "recent rampant extrajudicial killings and summary executions of suspected criminals to strengthen the mechanisms of accountability of law enforcers and to institute corrective legislative measures to ensure full respect of basic human rights, especially the right to life." [continues 182 words]
Country 'Drowning' Bishops, UN and Even Vice-President Alarmed at Vigilante Violence The new Philippines government's war on drugs has already killed almost 300 people since the start of July - but President Rodrigo Duterte wants the authorities to escalate the war. Mr Duterte shrugged off alarm over the rising body count in his first state of the nation address, declaring that drugs were drowning his country and human rights were no excuse to shield criminals. "Double your efforts. Triple them if need be," he said in a message to police. [continues 454 words]
CEBU CITY-The highest-ranking police official in Central Visayas revealed an offer made by what he said is a vigilante group to help the police bring down drug suspects as part of the Duterte administration's war on drugs. Chief Supt. Noli Talino, Central Visayas police director, said he received a text message from an anonymous group offering to help police kill suspected pushers and others involved in drug trafficking. "They want to take the law into their own hands because they could no longer stand the presence of people who continue to peddle or use illegal drugs," Talino said. [continues 341 words]
At least eight cases that bore the marks of extrajudicial killings of drug suspects are now being investigated by the Commission on Human Rights in Central Visayas (CHR-7). The probe came barely 24 hours after President Rodrigo Duterte's tirade against human rights advocates questioning his tough anti-crime policies, particularly on the slaying of suspected drug peddlers. Leo Villarino, CHR-7 chief investigator, said they received a directive from lawyer Diana De Leon of CHR's Human Rights Protection Office in Manila last July 15, mandating the regional office to conduct an investigation on what could be cases of summary executions. [continues 1087 words]
A MEMBER of the Quezon City Police District's (QCPD) antinarcotics division, whom the high command had monitored for allegedly reselling drugs seized in big-time raids and arrests, was shot dead by fellow officers who were carrying out what their leader called an "internal cleansing" of their ranks. Senior Insp. Ramon Castillo became another statistic in the Duterte administration's bloody war on drugs, albeit in a distinct category of kills. He allegedly refused to surrender and shot it out with a team who had him entrapped in a buy-bust operation in Greater Fairview, Quezon City, early Tuesday. [continues 488 words]
S. China Sea Gets Brief Mention in His State of the Nation Address Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte yesterday defended his deadly anti-crime war even as he enumerated a host of big measures to bring economic relief to wage earners, conclude peace with communist and Muslim rebels, fix infrastructure bottlenecks and improve disbursement of government resources through a shift to federalism. "We will not stop until the last drug lord, the last financier and the last pusher have surrendered or put behind bars - or below the ground if they so wish," Mr Duterte said in his first State of the Nation Address before Congress. [continues 510 words]
THE VICTIMS of the Duterte administration's war on drugs were "sacrificial lambs" used to make people believe the campaign is a success, according to a ranking official of the Catholic Church. "Who are we to say they were hopeless and that they should die?" said Bishop Broderick Pabillo in his 14-minute homily at a Mass yesterday at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Ermita, Manila, which marked the launch of the Church's "Huwag Kang Papatay" (Thou Shall Not Kill) campaign. [continues 368 words]
Car Sales Exec: I'm Appalled at Silence on Vigilante Slays ACCOUNTABILITY and due process amid the wave of killings of suspected drug pushers and users, most of them poor, are among the hot-button issues that President Duterte should speak about in his first State of the Nation Address (Sona), according to people interviewed by the INQUIRER. Other issues include the President's stand on the Paris pact on climate change, conditional cash transfer and poverty alleviation, the South China Sea dispute, the monster traffic jams in Metro Manila, K-12 program and corruption. [continues 1143 words]
Amid public concerns, the Philippine National Police (PNP) reported an increasing number of drug suspects getting killed since President Duterte assumed office on June 30. The PNP said the summary of the campaign against illegal drugs showed that 239 drug suspects were slain in police operations as of July 22. There were a total of 120,038 drug pushers and users who surrendered to authorities. On July 20, the PNP reported 207 suspected drug offenders getting killed in police operations, meaning an additional 32 deaths were recorded in two days. [continues 374 words]
At least 25,230 drug pushers and drug dependents have surrendered to police in Metro Manila since the government started its war on drugs, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) reported yesterday. NCRPO director Chief Superintendent Oscar Albayalde also noted the significant decrease in street crimes in the metropolis with the implementation of both Oplans Tokhang and Double Barrel. Tokhang involves visiting the homes of suspected drug users and pushers and asking them to change their ways while Double Barrel refers to a two-pronged campaign to arrest drug lords and pushers. [continues 307 words]
Message to Duterte to Coincide With Sona THOU shall not kill. The Sixth Commandment is the message for President Duterte that will emanate from a Mass which the Archdiocese of Manila will hold tomorrow afternoon as he delivers his first State of the Nation Address (Sona) to Congress. The Mass will mark the launching of the "Huwag Kang Papatay" (Thou Shall Not Kill) campaign, which aims to bring together the families of the victims of extrajudicial killings that have come with the Duterte administration's war on illegal drugs. [continues 678 words]
"LET US not allow violence to rule us but in every circumstance be vigilant and zealous in upholding the dignity and rights of all as befit responsible citizens and followers of Christ" is the plea in a "pastoral letter" issued by La Sallian Br. Jose Mari Jimenez FSC (no relation, as far as I know). Jimenez, who is president of De La Salle Philippines and auxiliary visitor (a regional supervisory post) for the De La Salle Brothers, thus joined other voices raised in concern over the number of people killed as part of the Duterte administration's deadly and bloody antidrug campaign. [continues 875 words]
With the focus of the intensified drug campaign now shifting to drug lords, President Duterte has clearly and literally spelled out his way of dealing with them: KILL. "It is spelled K-I-L-L. Bakit sabi mo kell? Bisaya eh (Why kell? It's Visayan)," he said, drawing laughter from his audience in Buluan in Maguindanao where he inspected a power plant operated by Green Earth Corp. last Friday. "Remember that I have always been consistent in my statements. During the campaign: Do not destroy my country because I will kill you. Can't you understand that?" he said, addressing the drug lords. [continues 507 words]
ALBERT EINSTEIN, the most influential physicist of the 20th century, reportedly said that if he were given one hour to save the world he would devote 55 minutes to defining the problem and five minutes to finding the solution. I think that is a rather lopsided proportion, but it does illustrate the point that we should not jump into solving a problem without spending time to understand it. Before rushing to solve a problem, whether it be the traffic mess, poverty, or drug addiction and crime, it is best to view it from different perspectives so as to come up with various insights. [continues 964 words]
ON MONDAY, President Duterte will deliver his first State of the Nation Address with some very real numbers to back him. From July 1 to 19, or the first three weeks of his centerpiece campaign against crime and the scourge of illegal drugs, police reports say some 103,375 suspected drug users and pushers have surrendered, about 30,000 of them in Central Luzon alone; nearly 3,000 persons have been arrested; and 194 drug suspects have been killed in purported legitimate operations. Philippine National Police Director General Ronald de la Rosa has also said that "crimes against property and persons, like physical injuries, theft, robbery, rape, [car theft have] significantly gone down." Doubtless, that assertion will come with its own supporting figures when the President once again delivers a ringing endorsement of his tough crime-fighting methods in his Sona. [continues 613 words]
The drug war is going big-time, with anti-narcotics agents killing the suspected operator of a shabu manufacturing facility in Valenzuela. Police raiders said Chinese national Meco Tan was shot dead when he tried to flee in his car during yesterday's early morning raid. Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa warned that more large-scale drug traffickers would fall in the coming days, amid observations that the drug war has so far focused only on small-scale and mostly low-income street pushers and impoverished drug users. [continues 256 words]
As noteworthy as the high number of drug suspects being killed daily is the number of cops arrested or themselves slain on suspicion of involvement in the illegal trade, or else relieved from their posts for drug use. We don't know when the law enforcers lost their way and became lawbreakers. Presumably they were still straight when they joined the Philippine National Police. PNP applicants are required to undergo psychiatric evaluation and a physical exam that includes testing for a drug habit. The number of cops being implicated in the drug trade indicates something wrong with the PNP recruitment process. Most of the cops apprehended, sacked or killed in the ongoing drug war are/were enlisted personnel who are/were relatively new in the force. [continues 802 words]
This three-month reign of perceived police terror left at least 2,274 people dead. The government and police implausibly ascribed the deaths to gangland feuding, insisting that only 42 drug suspects were shot by police officers-most of those in "self-defense". In fact, the government openly encouraged the police to carry out extra-judicial killings so that the arbitrary goals of its "war on drugs" could be met on time. The Narcotics Control Board provided the indices: 1,765 people arrested as major drug dealers and another 15,244 as minor dealers. More than 280,000 "drug pushers" and "addicts" gave themselves up to authorities and were sent for rehabilitation. In all, some 15.5 million pills were confiscated and the street price for the drug doubled or trebled over the course of the three months from February 1 to April 30. [continues 872 words]
VICE President Leni Robredo strongly condemned on Wednesday the spate of extrajudicial killings that have occurred recently. "This senseless and unjust violence must stop," she said. As the government steps up its war on drugs, and suspected users, pushers, and drug dealers are killed by police officers, vigilantes, or drug syndicates, the vice-president urged authorities to seriously investigate the killings and bring those responsible to justice. "The rise in extrajudicial killings is a call for all of us to uphold every person's right to due process," she said in a press statement. [continues 78 words]
In the 20 days since President Duterte took office, about 10 drug personalities were killed daily all over the country. Records of the Philippine National Police (PNP) show that 207 suspected drug pushers and users were killed from July 1 to 20. PNP records also show that 2,789 drug pushers and users were arrested while 114,833 surrendered during Duterte's first 20 days in office. Police conducted 61,806 house visitations to warn drug suspects. PNP chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa yesterday led the Special Action Force to the New Bilibid Prison to crack down on drug lords dictating the trade while serving sentence in prison. [continues 225 words]
GOOGLE defines pogrom as an organized massacre of a particular ethnic group, particularly the Jews in Russia and Eastern Europe in 1881-1884. The word is synonymous with massacre, slaughter, carnage, bloodbath without due process. Although not exactly similar in reach, intensity and wickedness, there is little difference between the Russian pogrom and the Duterte administration's ongoing campaign against those engaged in illegal drugs in their disregard for the sacredness of human life and lack of due process. Lately, various media outlets estimate that around 300 suspected drug addicts have already been killed by policemen and vigilante groups in various parts of the country since President Duterte's inauguration last June 30, 2016. The deaths have a familiar ring to it-the victims engaged the police in a shootout; they grabbed the gun of a cop or they tried to escape. One incredible aspect of this narrative is that hardly any cop has died in the process. Parati na lang ang drug addicts ang namamatay, hello? [continues 374 words]
the Citizen's Council for Human Rights (Cchr) Strongly Condemns the Escalating Number of Killings of Suspected Drug Pushers and Dependents WHO Said to Have Died Either During So-Called Legitimate Police Operations or at the Hands of Unknown Gunmen. the Surge in Fatalities Is Too Alarming to Be Ignored: From January 1 to May 9 This Year (129 Days), Reported Deaths From Drug-Related Violence Was 39. but the Death Count Suddenly Swelled After May 10. in a Matter of 64 Days, 251 Deaths Have Already Been Reported. What Makes These Spate of Executions Most Worrisome Is That This Was Prompted by President Duterte's Pronouncements, Made Even Before His Assumption into Office, That Urged the Police, Ordinary Citizens and Later, the New Peoples Army to Kill All Those Involved in the Illegal Drug Trade, With the Promise That He Would Shield Them Against Any Legal Consequences. [continues 1200 words]
ALMOST every day, we are being treated to spectacles on TV where relatives of alleged drug pushers are seen crying and wailing over their violent deaths in the hands of narcotic agents or policemen, and protesting the manner by which their loved ones were "terminated"-"Pinatay na parang baboy, eh, sumurender na nga!" The questions we have to ask are: How many years have those relatives known of the nefarious activities of those pushers and remained quiet about what they knew and, worse, while benefiting from the fruits of their crimes? How many lives have those pushers ruined over the years ( including my own son's)? If those relatives really cared for them that much as they now seem in front of TV cameras, how come they never did anything to make them stop? They were warned many months ago! [continues 278 words]
MANILA - Human rights are not a concern in Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs, he said, as he vowed to ignore due process and compared himself to Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. In the latest of a series of tirades, the country's newly elected leader doubled down on a promised campaign of widespread killings and said he wouldn't listen to "bleeding hearts". "I will retire with the reputation of Idi Amin," he said in a speech yesterday, referring to the late African ruler whose 1971-1979 regime was characterised by large-scale rights abuses that killed tens if not hundreds of thousands of Ugandans. [continues 263 words]
SUMMARY execution is outside of the law. High value drug pushers (if identified) could be subjected to silent killing by the joint forces of "The Punisher", "Mr. Death Wish," and "Dirty Harry." This could be beyond the movies if the vigilante groups will do their thing. We would like to believe that our policemen do their duty "to serve and to protect" by day, and we do not believe that they take off their uniforms at night to do a "Batman" raid with many "Robins." We want to evade that in our imagination, but that could happen. Our policemen are not expected to do vigilante actions because they are the agents of the persons in authority and they can always operate within the bounds of the law. [continues 656 words]
Unfazed by the public outcry over drug-related killings and arrests barely three weeks into his term, President Duterte said he doesn't mind having more drug offenders killed even if it would mean his being likened to the late Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. Speaking at a fellowship dinner over the weekend with his batchmates at the San Beda College of Law, Duterte reiterated that he would not change his leadership style, which he said had been effective in Mindanao. Duterte was Davao City mayor for two decades. [continues 261 words]
Inside Philippines
