Police in the Philippines are back to killing drug suspects, despite claims that the drug war will be “bloodless” going forward.
Authorities gunned down eight suspects Tuesday, the day after the police were permitted to rejoin the war on drugs. “I hope that this will be less bloody, if not bloodless,” Philippine National Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa said Monday, referring to the renewed effort.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte temporarily suspended the anti-narcotics campaign in late January to purge rogue cops from the police force. For months, foreign countries, international institutions, and human rights organizations had criticized the Philippine police for carrying out extrajudicial killings. Damning evidence implicating crooked police officers in the murder of a South Korean national came to light in January, humiliating the president, who had repeatedly defended the police.
Duterte decided to restart the drug war last week, claiming that drugs were back on the streets. The police rejoined the campaign Monday with officials claiming that the force was going to cut down on the death. The decision followed a report by an international human rights watchdog, Human Rights Watch, that suggested Duterte might be guilty of “crimes against humanity” for running a “campaign of extrajudicial executions.”
Police Senior Superintendent Romeo M. Caramat, Jr., said Tuesday that eight suspects were killed and 21 were arrested in multiple raids in Bulacan Province. The deceased reportedly turned violent when the police arrived. Caramat noted that most, but not all, of the individuals killed in the raids had ties to the domestic narcotics trade.
The war on drugs in the Philippines at last count had claimed the lives of approximately 8,000 people.
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