Philippines drug war or War on human rights

14/9/16

The Philippine Drug War, also known as the Philippine War on Drugs, is an ongoing domestic crackdown against narcotics distribution and use in the Philippines that began on June 30, 2016 when Rodrigo Dutertewas inaugurated as president.
One of the central features of President Rodrigo Duterte's presidential campaign was the levels of drug crime across the country. Stating that the country would become a narco-state if drug addiction was not forcefully combated, he ran a hardline campaign which included the killing of suspected drug dealers and abusers only if they resist arrest. Winning in a landslide victory, he promised to kill tens of thousands of drug criminals during the campaign against narcotics.
As Mayor of Davao City, Rodrigo Duterte was praised for turning his city into one of the safest cities in the world through the suppression of drugs and criminality, although he was criticized by groups like Human Rights Watch for the extrajudicial killings carried out by the Davao Death Squad, a vigilante group with which he was allegedly involved.
In the first two weeks of Rodrigo Duterte's presidency, more than 100 suspected drug dealers had been killed, 1,844 arrested and 660,000 drug users and dealers had surrendered. In August 2016, that number had inflated to approximately 1,800 killed, 5,400 arrested and 565,805 dealers and users surrendered to police. While the Director-General of the Philippine National Police, Ronald dela Rosa, stated that crime rates had fallen by 49% since the President took office, critics of the campaign likened the situation to the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos.
After winning presidential elections with a campaign promising to rid the country of drugs and corruption, Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte is standing true to his aim with over 400 dealers and others already having been killed by police. The state-sanctioned executions are facing widespread criticism from human rights activists.
Over 300 anti-narcotics and human rights groups from around the world Tuesday called for the United Nations to denounce the killings being carried out by the police as well as vigilante groups, which have reportedly slaughtered hundreds more based on Duterte’s public calls to take action against drugs by taking the law into their own hands.
The appeal was directed to the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and came after a Philippine senator called for an investigation into the killings that Duterte has endorsed.
In a speech before the Senate, former justice minister Leila de Lima said: “We cannot wage the war against drugs with blood. We will only be trading drug addiction with another more malevolent kind of addiction. This is the compulsion for more killing.”
In a nationally televised speech in June, Duterte urged the citizens: “Please feel free to call us, the police, or do it yourself if you have the gun — you have my support.”
“You can kill him. Shoot him and I’ll give you a medal,” he added.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has named several government officials, including judges, members of Congress and military officers accused of having links to the illegal drug trade, just hours after vowing to maintain his "shoot-to-kill" order against drug dealers.
In a televised national address on Sunday, Duterte declared that the officials he accused would have their day in court, but quickly added while reading the list that "my mouth has no due process". 
He justified his reading of the list, saying he has a sworn duty to inform the public about the state of "narco-politics" in the country. 
On July 8, 2016, the left-wing political partyBagong Alyansang Makabayan, represented by Liza Maza of GABRIELA Women's Party, both allies with the current government, asked Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to investigate the recent vigilante killings of suspected drug pushersIfugao congressman Teodoro Baguilat called for an investigation because of concerns about the death rate of suspected drug pushers as well as the legitimacy of their labels. Those killed by police and vigilantes had no due process, of course, and so no evidence of their supposed crimes was presented. This is the same for the 'voluntary surrendering' likewise cited. People appeared on the lists by the barangays and PNP without evidence of any crime, such that thousands of people were summoned to the barangay under threat of arrest or even death without any evidence of criminal activity.
Opposition senator and human rights lawyer Leila de Lima of the Liberal Party condemned the killings and urged the Philippine Congress to investigate. She called for an end of vigilante killings of drug suspects. On her privilege speech at Senate on August 2, she noted that "we cannot wage the war against drugs with blood..." De Lima laments the indifference of the new government to extrajudicial killings and warns that more innocent people will suffer if the killings fail to stop.[55] The Archbishop of Manila Luis Antonio Tagle condemns the extralegal killings and murders under Rodrigo Duterte.
However, human rights groups and the families of those who died say that they were poor Filipinos, killed without an accusation or a trial. The Times reported Phelim Kine, a deputy director of Human Rights Watch in Asia, as saying, “These are not the wealthy and powerful drug lords who actually have meaningful control over supply of drugs on the streets in the Philippines.”
The president has also accused five police generals of protecting drug lords, without any specific evidence. A mayor, the mayor’s son and a prominent businessman have also been accused of drug trafficking by Duterte who threatened their lives if they refused to surrender.
        ABS-CBN, one of the country’s top broadcasters, reported that 603 people had been killed since Duterte was elected, with 211 murdered by unidentified gunmen, according to the Agence France Presse./.
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All comments [ 11 ]


Red Star 16/9/16 08:21

Rodrigo Duterte was criticized by groups like Human Rights Watch for the extrajudicial killings carried out by the Davao Death Squad, a vigilante group with which he was allegedly involved.

yobro yobro 16/9/16 08:22

In the first two weeks of Rodrigo Duterte's presidency, more than 100 suspected drug dealers had been killed, 1,844 arrested and 660,000 drug users and dealers had surrendered.

For A Peace World 16/9/16 08:23

Opposition senator and human rights lawyer Leila de Lima of the Liberal Party condemned the killings and urged the Philippine Congress to investigate.

Socialist Society 16/9/16 08:24

Lethal actions are only warranted if there is an immediate threat against officers...there should not be a deliberate attempt to kill.

John Smith 16/9/16 08:25

Across the Philippines, the killing of some 1,300 drug suspects in the last two months has frightened hundreds of thousands of people.

Me Too! 16/9/16 08:27

Not just human rights catastrophe but also a political chaos.

Vietnam Love 16/9/16 08:28

As the body count soars, some say the real threat to the Philippines is not drugs but the President himself.

Gentle Moon 16/9/16 08:30

Now, it’s the Philippines’ turn, and Duterte’s war may turn out to be the most ferocious yet. “This fight against drugs will continue to the last day of my term,” he said.

John Smith 16/9/16 08:31

So cruel!

Voice of people 16/9/16 08:31

“I don’t care about human rights, believe me” Duterte got elected because he promised to be tough on crime.

LawrenceSamuels 16/9/16 08:33

In other words, the statistics show what any visitor to the country may easily see: Filipinos are not degenerates, who need to be protected from themselves, but are mostly a nation of decent, sober, law-abiding and God-fearing people.

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