1,900 killed in Manila’s anti-drug campaign
Print Edition
MORE than 1,900 people, or about 36 per day, have been killed in a violent campaign against drugs in the Philippines since President Rodrigo Duterte came to office seven weeks ago, the country’s national police chief said yesterday.
Director-General Ronald dela Rosa told a Senate hearing there was no declared policy to kill drug users and pushers, and that about 1,100 deaths were still being investigated.
“We are not butchers,” he said.
The rest of the dead were people killed in police anti-narcotics operations, dela Rosa said.
“This has a chilling effect,” said Senator Frank Drilon after the police chief’s deposition. “We are all concerned about the number of deaths ... this is alarming.”
Duterte, nicknamed “the Punisher,” has promised to wipe out drugs and has warned traffickers that they will die if they do not mend their ways.
The inquiry is being conducted by a staunch critic of the president, Senator Leila de Lima, who has summoned top police and anti-narcotics officials to explain the “unprecedented” body count and reports of vigilante killings.
Duterte has warned legislators not to interfere with his campaign, saying they could be killed if they blocked efforts aimed at improving the country.
Nearly 700,000 drug users and traffickers have turned themselves in to escape the crackdown, police chief dela Rosa said. He said there was a decrease in overall crime, although the homicide rate had increased.
Outside the senate building, dozens of supporters cheered dela Rosa for leading the war against drugs, chanting his nickname, “Bato, Bato.”
Some carried placards reading: “We are with you Bato in the fight against drugs.”
The number of those killed provided by dela Rosa at the Senate hearing was higher than the 1,800 he gave at the hearing on Monday. He gave no explanation for the higher number but said the figures had been updated. Dela Rosa said about 750 of the dead were killed in police operations against drug peddlers. The other deaths were being investigated, he said.
“Not all deaths under investigation are drug-related,” dela Rosa said, adding that 40 killings were known to be due to enmity or robbery.
He also said about 300 of his officers were suspected of being involved in the drug trade, warning these personnel that they will be sacked and prosecuted if found guilty.
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