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MANILA, Philippines – An international human rights group on Tuesday described as “misleading, selfish and absolutely baseless” President Rodrigo Duterte’s claim that most cases of extrajudicial killings (EJK) during his tenure were carried out by vigilantes and gangs.
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), no EJK incidents have been linked to drug syndicates since the government launched its war on drugs in 2016, adding that, on the contrary, it has been “credibly established.” that the police and local authorities were often behind most of the cases.
In many of these incidents, “the police routinely [manufactured] evidence, placing drugs and weapons on dead suspects at the scene of the alleged crime, to substantiate his claim that the suspects had responded, ”said HRW Deputy Director for Asia Phil Robertson.
“Furthermore, the police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) admit that they have killed almost 6,000 in these anti-drug operations, but have no investigations to prove in virtually all of these cases,” he added. “Once again, Duterte is fabricating a story or ‘fake news’, to use the nickname he likes to use, to divert attention from the killers in the police ranks to the so-called drug syndicates.”
In a televised speech Monday night, the president blamed the EJK for the turf wars between warring drug syndicates, and emphasized that the government had nothing to do with it.
“Many say that I do not follow the rule of law and that I had killed many. I didn’t kill anyone, ”he said, adding that he had never ordered anyone killed.
The president’s claim was backed by the Philippine National Police, whose spokesman said drug syndicates at war were known to “kill each other.”
“You know that a drug cartel is made up of people who will protect their king, who will protect their interests, who will protect their information, because it is illegal. They are an organized crime. There is honor among thieves. Now if your honor is violated, what is the consequence? They kill each other, ”PNP spokesman Colonel Ysmael Yu told the Inquirer.
He added that other drug syndicates “base their transaction on the word of honor and if they do not comply with the agreement, the murders occur.”
At times, the killings were due to territorial disputes, Yu said.
He insisted that the so-called EJKs in the drug war were not sponsored by the state.
“We follow the rule of law, the PNP’s operating procedure and participation rules and, of course, respect for human rights,” Yu said.
The PDEA said that as of Aug. 31, there were 5,856 suspects killed in the war on drugs that began on July 1, 2016.
–With reports from Nestor Corrales and Julie M. Aurelio
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