Page 2 of 6 FirstFirst 1 2 3 4 ... LastLast
Results 26 to 50 of 130

Thread: NSFW - Philippines war on drugs - 6000 lives taken in five months

  1. #26
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    3,753
    Rep Power
    0
    https://www.rappler.com/nation/20649...halili-killing


    Update the conspiracies on Mayor Halili death is at play and now there's allegations that President Duterte made rumors that Mayor Halili was a Drug dealer. Either way the conspiracies continues while the PNP is looking for the assassins of this incident.

  2. #27
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    3,753
    Rep Power
    0
    https://www.rappler.com/nation/20634...antonio-halili

    ANother report on the Halili death

    BATANGAS, Philippines – While the Monday morning killing of Tanauan City Mayor Antonio "Tony" Halili shocked many, a city official who worked closely with him said Halili had premonitions about his death.

    Gerald Laresma, Tanauan City's public information officer, said that before the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections last May, the mayor spoke about an "imminent threat" to his life.


    While he would mention receiving death threats and say that he was "prepared to die to serve his people," Laresma noted that Halili began receiving more death threats after November 2017, when he was included in the government's list of linked to the drug trade.

    The National Police Commission removed his supervisory powers over the police after that.

    "He was really visible before, very hands-on," Laresma said. "But when someone advised him to go low profile, he stopped his usual routines." (LOOK: 'Sniper hole' of Tanauan Mayor Halili's killer)

    Halili, for example, stopped his usual habit of helping manage traffic when he gets through a traffic jam in the city.

    "That's why I can't say that he did not [take the threats seriously], it's just that this time siguro talagang determined," Laresma said.

    The mayor was shot in broad daylight during a flag-raising ceremony in front of the city hall on Monday, July 2.

    He was 72. He is survived by wife Angelina and their 4 children – one son and 3 daughters. One of their children died about a decade ago.

    Malaca?ang immediately condemned his murder, but that didn't stop President Rodrigo Duterte from accusing him of merely putting up a front when he paraded drug suspects in his city. (READ: Duterte claims Tanauan's Halili involved in drug trade)

    Halili is the 9th mayor to be killed since Duterte became president. (READ: Mayors, vice mayors killed under Duterte)

    Halili gained notoriety for his "walk of shame" for drug suspects back in 2016, when he paraded drug personalities for everyone to see. The practice was slammed by the Commission on Human Rights as unconstitutional. – Rappler.com

  3. #28
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    3,753
    Rep Power
    0
    http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1006513...nauan-batangas

    Now the apparent location where the gun was fired is revealed.

    VIEW TO A KILL A photographer checks a grassy area where a sniper may have shot Mayor Halili about 150 meters away. INQUIRER photo

    The position of the gunman in the killing of Tanauan City Mayor Antonio Halili in Batangas was discovered by investigators more than a hundred meters away from where the slain official was standing.

    According to Supt. Renato Mercado, Tanauan City Police chief, the sniper was positioned about 150 meters away from the location where Halili was attending the flag ceremony.

    The assailant used the elevated portion of the area as a vantage point as he covered himself with the grass.


    ADVERTISEMENT







    “Around 150 meters, parang nag-cover siya. Walang tao kasi ang kasunod no’n sementeryo pero malayo pa yung sementeryo, madamo na ‘don,” Mercado said in an interview on Tuesday.







    Erich on her topless photo shoot: It’s the right time for it




    New video of Tanauan mayor’s shooting goes viral on social media








    ([The sniper was positioned about] 150 meters, there he took cover. There was no one in that area because the nearest area is a cemetery, and it is full of grass.)

    Mercado said that the investigations done by the Scene of the Crime Operatives are still on going as of now.

    Halili was killed after taking a single bullet in the chest on Monday morning while the officials of the Tanauan local government was holding a flag-raising ceremony.

    READ: New video of Tanauan mayor’s shooting goes viral on social media

    Halili became controversial after his “Walk of Shame” campaign throughout the city where suspected criminals were paraded along the city streets wearing placards.

    Different video clips have spread through social media about the murder, showing Halili staggering to the ground after being shot. Chaos ensued as other officers of the city government scamper away. /jpv



  4. #29
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    3,753
    Rep Power
    0
    https://www.telesurtv.net/english/ne...0703-0005.html

    the Conspiracy theories continue over Dutertes Drug Crack down though..

    A video of the incident shows Halili outside the city hall singing the Philippine national anthem before a single gunshot rang through the crowd.

    Controversial Philippine Mayor Antonio Halili was assassinated while attending a flag-raising ceremony, on Monday. Hours after the incident, President Rodrigo Duterte claimed Halili was involved in illegal drugs. "I suspect he was into drugs. I just suspect."



    Reports are that the Tanauan city official – who famously paraded suspected drug dealers through city streets in a campaign dubbed “walk of shame” – was shot in the chest during the event and later succumbed to his injury while en route to being treated. The suspects were forced to wear cardboard signs that read “I'm a pusher, don't emulate me.”

    Duterte's remarks contradict that of presidential spokesperson Harry Roque who said Halili was a supporter of the administration's campaign against illegal drugs. But the president said Halili was similar to now-deceased mayors Reynaldo Parojinog and Rolando Espinosa, who were both on Duterte's list of narco-politicians.

    "Kanina si Halili sa Batangas. Kunwari ipa-procession ang mga addicts, siya pala, siya 'yun," Duterte said during an address at the anniversary of Maasin City. Translation: Earlier, Halili in Batangas. He pretended to shame addicts by parading them, but he was involved, it was him.

    A video of the incident, showing Halili and civil servants outside the city hall singing the Philippine national anthem before the sound of a single gunshot rang through the crowd followed by screaming, has made the rounds on social media.

    “We are shocked, we are saddened,” Vice Mayor Jhoanna Villamor, who was standing near Halili at the ceremony, told DZBB.

    Philippine police chief Oscar Albayalde said no one approach the mayor. "They just heard a gunshot so the assumption or allegation was it could have been a sniper shot," Albayalde said in a news conference.

    Officials disclosed that an investigation is currently underway. Halili identified as a supporter of Duterte's campaign to target drug kingpins. Since Duterte took office in 2016, more than 4,200 drug suspects had been killed in clashes with police.

    "No one is safe – mayors, governors, congressmen – just a false intelligence report by the police can end up with any of them being destroyed," Halili said in a 2016 interview.

    The mayor previously denied claims, leveled by police officials, that he was involved in illegal drug-related activities, stating that would he would resign and publicly parade as a drug suspect if evidence was presented.

    According to TIME, Philippine police have killed at least three mayors with alleged links to illegal drugs.
    Apparently theres Allegations that the Drug war in the Philippines is used to remove political opponents.

  5. #30
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    3,753
    Rep Power
    0
    https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq...erte-goverment

    Update now the List of Mayors assassinated in the Duterte Era is mentioned due to being mentioned on the registered Narco List.

    MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Ferdinand Bote, mayor of General Tinio in Nueva Ecija province, is the latest local executive killed since President Rodrigo Duterte assumed power in 2016.

    Bote was ambushed by motorcycle-riding men in Cabanatuan City on Tuesday, July 3, a day after another mayor, Antonio Halili of Tanauan City in Batangas province, was shot dead during a flag-raising ceremony at the city hall.

    Rappler tallies at least 4 vice mayors and 10 mayors slain based on media reports between July 2016 and July 2018. With the exception of Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr who was shot dead while detained, all were killed while holding office:

    1. Pamplona Vice Mayor Aaron Sampaga – August 2016

    Pamplona Vice Mayor Aaron Sampaga was killed by unidentified gunmen on August 5, 2016 in Cagayan province. He was 3-term Pamplona mayor before his sister Arnie Angelica Sampaga was elected mayor during the May 2016 elections.

    2. Datu Saudi Ampatuan Mayor Samsudin Dimaukom – October 2016

    Datu Saudi Ampatuan Mayor Samsudin Dimaukom was killed in an alleged shootout with state operatives on October 28, 2016 in Makilala, North Cotabato. He was flagged down at a checkpoint “based on information that the group will transport illegal drugs to Maguindanao and Cotabato area.”

    Dimaukom was one of the local officials on the drug list of President Duterte.

    3. Albera Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr – November 2016

    Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr was killed in a reported shootout inside his jail cell at the Leyte Sub-Provincial Jail in Baybay City on November 5, 2016. Authorities alleged they were serving a search warrant when he resisted.

    Espinosa arrested by police in October 2016 in connection with violations of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 and for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition after a PNP raid in his house yielded 11 kilos of suspected methamphetamine worth an estimated P88 million, and high-powered weapons.

    He and his son, Kerwin, were among the first alleged drug personalities named Duterte.

    4. Datu Saudi Ampatuan Vice Mayor Anwar Sindatuk – November 2016

    Datu Saudi Ampatuan Vice Mayor Anwar Sindatuk was entertaining guests inside his home in Maguindanao when an unidentified suspect shot him at close range on November 26, 2016.

    Initially elected as the town's number one councilor, Sindatuk assumed the post of vice mayor after the previous vice mayor, Anida Dimaukom, assumed the post of mayor to replace the slain Dimaukom.

    5. Pantar Mayor Mohammad Exchan Limbona – December 2016

    Pantar, Lanao del Norte Mayor Mohammad Exchan Limbona was killed in an ambush in Iligan City on December 29, 2016. He was with his wife, daughter, and two escorts when an unidentified group open fired at his vehicle in Barangay Dalipuga.

    Local police said that possible motive for the killing could either be politics or rido, a family feud.

    6. Marcos Mayor Arsenio Agustin – June 2017

    Marcos town Mayor Arsenio Agustin was gunned down by unidentified men in his town in Ilocos Norte on June 3, 2017 while he inspecting a water impounding project. He and his driver, Mark Valencia, were declared dead on arrival.

    7. Bien Unido Mayor Gisela Bendong-Boniel – June 2017

    Bien Unido, Bohol Mayor Gisela Bendon-Boniel was believed to have been abducted and killed on June 7, 2016 allegedly by her husband, Bohol Board Member Ni?o Rey Boniel, over marital issues. Her remains are yet to be found.

    8. Balete, Batangas Mayor Leovino Hidalgo – June 2017

    Balete, Batangas Mayor Leovino Hidalgo was gunned down by unidentified men on June 10, 2017 during a local sports event, according to a GMA News Online report.

    9. Ozamiz Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog – July 2017

    Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog and 14 others, including his wife Susan, brother Octavio Jr, and sister Mona, were killed in a police raid on July 30, 2017. State agents were allegedly serving a search warrant when Parojinog's security personnel attacked.

    The Parojinogs, an influential clan in Misamis Occidental, are among those named by Duterte in his list of local government offiicals allegedly involved in the drug trade.

    10. Roxas, Oriental Mindoro Vice Mayor Jackson Cinco Dy – September 2017

    Roxas town, Oriental Mindoro Vice Mayor Jackson Cinco Dy was gunned down by unidentified men on September 22, 2017, according to a Philippine Daily Inquirer report. The assailants fled using a motorcycle.

    11. Ronda, Cebu Vice Mayor Jonah John Ungab – February 2018

    Ronda, Cebu Vice Mayor Jonah John Ungab was killed when unidentified gunmen opened fire at his vehicle on February 19, 2018 along S. Osme?a Street, Cebu City. He is the lawyer of suspected drug lord Kerwin Espinosa.

    12. Buenavista Mayor Ronald Lowell Tirol – May 2018

    Buenavista, Bohol Mayor Ronald Lowell Tirol was shot at close range by an unidentified man while inside the town's cockpit arena on May 27, 2018. He was declared dead on arrival.

    13. Tanuan City Mayor Antonio Halili – July 2018

    Tanauan City, Batangas Mayor Antonio Halili was shot dead on July 2, 2018 during a weekly flag-raising ceremony in front of city hall. He grabbed headlines for implementing a “walk of shame” for drug suspects back in 2016, which was slammed by the Commission on Human Rights because parading suspects was unconstitutional.

    In November 2017, after the Duterte administration linked him to illegal drugs, the National Police Commission stripped Halili of powers to supervise the local police. Halili refused to heed calls for him to surrender.

    14. General Tinio Mayor Ferdinand Bote – July 2018

    Mayor Ferdinand Bote of General Tinio, Nueva Ecija, was killed by motorcycle-riding gunmen on July 3, 2018 while coming from the National Irrigation Administration office in Cabanatuan City. He was declared dead on arrival at a nearby hospital. – Rappler.com

  6. #31
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    3,753
    Rep Power
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by Angiebla View Post
    So this guy is saying it's okay to kill drug dealers and users? How does he know if someone is definately a user or not?

    Is this like some weird type of purge thing?

    https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se...irer-columnist

    Well now there's been talks that President Duterte is using the Drug War to remove his political opponents.

  7. #32
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    3,753
    Rep Power
    0
    http://cnnphilippines.com/regional/2...vite-dead.html

    Update now a Vice Mayor has been killed in the Philippines in the Duterte era.

  8. #33
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    3,753
    Rep Power
    0
    https://www.rappler.com/nation/20671...igan-shot-dead

    The Vice Mayor in Cavite Alex Lubigan was being accused of corruption at the time of assassination. However there's one question here President Duterte needs to explain how assassinations solves corruption and the drug issue in the Philippines if in fact that's the real issue or is this a cover for removing political opponents in 2019.

  9. #34
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    3,753
    Rep Power
    0
    http://cnnphilippines.com/videos/201...ice-mayor.html

    Update now a vice mayor is assassinated in Cavite, Philippines.

  10. #35
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    3,753
    Rep Power
    0
    http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/...illings/story/

    If a country thinks vigilante killings are OK and in the good interests of the people then good luck with that and see how much insanity are you willing to take with that

  11. #36
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    3,753
    Rep Power
    0
    https://www.rappler.com/nation/20707...-in-maragondon

    http://www.manilatimes.net/corruptio...illing/418274/

    Here is an update on one of the assassinations

    PRESIDENTIAL Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) Chairman Dante Jimenez on Tuesday urged authorities to look into other angles behind the killing of Trece Martires Vice Mayor Alexander Lubigan, including corruption.

    Jimenez, who visited the wake of the slain vice mayor, said he had received information from a source in Trece Martires that the killing might have something to do with corruption happening in the city.

    “I have received information coming from a volunteer in Trece Martires telling me that authorities should also look at corruption angle,” Jimenez said in an interview.

    The PACC chairman however declined to elaborate because of the sensitive nature of the issue.

    Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission Chairman Dante Jimenez talks to Gemma Lubigan, wife of slain Trece Martires Vice Mayor Alex Lubigan.

    Lubigan and his assistant, Romulo Guillemer, were aboard their vehicle when the gunman, aboard a pickup truck, opened fire along the Trece Martires–Indang Road on Saturday, July 7.

    The attack on Lubigan came days after the assassination of Tanauan, Batangas Mayor Antonio Halili during the city’s flag-raising ceremony, and the killing of General Tinio, Nueva Ecija Mayor Ferdinand Bote.

    Jimenez made it clear he was not implying that the slain vice mayor was somehow involved in corruption.

    “I’m not referring to a specific individual, what I am asking is for the police to look at other possible angles like corruption instead of limiting it to political motives,” he added.

    Jimenez said the information he got from his source was validated by some of the residents whom he was able to talk to when he visited the wake of the vice mayor.

    “I challenge them [authorities]now to not limit their investigation on political angle and focus on particular angles and they should speed up the investigation of the case,” he added.

    Lubigan, who would have celebrated his birthday today (Wednesday), was supposed to announce his plan to run for mayor Monday during the city council’s session.

    The PACC chairman said authorities should start checking the Office of the Ombudsman if there were cases filed against officials of Trece Martires City and start their investigation from there.

  12. #37
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    3,753
    Rep Power
    0
    http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/11/1...ayor-shot-dead


    Now A forth Politician in the Philippines has been assassinated but the Allegations for why it happen is still being investigated.

    ZAMBOANGA CITY (3rd UPDATE) - The vice mayor of Sapa Sapa town in Tawi-Tawi was gunned down Wednesday.

    Vice Mayor Al-Rashid Mohammad Ali was on board his vehicle when he was shot by motorcycle-riding gunmen while traversing Governor Alvarez Avenue.

    Senior Supt. Allan Nazaro, director of Zamboanga City Police Office, said the victim was traveling with his family and a security escort when the ambush took place.

    Ali died in the hospital after sustaining two gunshot wounds in his chest.

    The attack took to 16 the number of mayors and vice mayors killed since Duterte unleashed his deadly anti-narcotics campaign when he came to power in 2016, according to media reports.

    "We're still investigating the motive for the killing," Nazaro said.

    Three mayors, who were on Duterte's watchlist of local officials suspected to have drug links, had been killed in two years. Ali is the second vice mayor to be assassinated.

    Last week, Mayor Antonio Halili of Tanauan City in Batangas, south of Manila, was hit by a bullet in the chest during a flag-raising ceremony.

    Halili had gained prominence in 2016 for parading drug suspects in the streets, but Duterte had put him on a watchlist of regional leaders.

    Duterte said the mayor may have had some drug involvement, calling his campaign to parade suspects was a ploy to convince police he was not engaged in the illegal drug trade. Halili’s daughter has denied that her father had such links.

    On Tuesday, gunmen on a motorcycle killed Mayor Ferdinand Bote of General Tinio town in Nueva Ecija province, but police said he was not linked to the drug trade.

    Alex Lubigan of Trece Martires, also south of Manila, was also killed in an ambush on Saturday. - with a report from Reuters

  13. #38
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    3,753
    Rep Power
    0
    http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2018/...arco-list.html

    Here is one of the Allegations

    Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 12) — The slain vice mayor of a town in Tawi-tawi was not part of the Duterte administration's so-called narco-list, local police said Thursday.

    "We checked on that and hindi po siya kasali. Wala po [he's not in it,]" S/Supt. Alan Nazarro, officer-in-charge of the Zamboanga City Police Office, told CNN Philippines.

    While police are still determining the motive, Nazarro said Vice Mayor Al Rashid Mohammad Ali of Sapa Sapa had told his family he has received threats.

    "According to the family the late mayor has been mentioning that he is having a threat pero di naman niya masabi [but he can't say] from where is that threat," he said. "Kaya po siya nagkaroon ng [That's why he had a] police escort."

    Ali was shot dead Wednesday afternoon. Ali, along with his wife and daughter, was on his way home from a mall.

    Nazarro added upon asking local officials in Tawi-Tawi, they found out that Sapa Sapa's mayor is Ali's father.

    "He is being groomed to be the next na ipapatakbo ng tatay na maging mayor [he's in the running to become mayor]," Nazarro claimed.

    Ali's death is the latest in recent attacks against local government officials.

  14. #39
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Posts
    22
    Rep Power
    0
    This is an excuse for one dealer to kill another to claim their territory. Someone with a personal vendetta against you can now just say you used drugs so they can kill you. And your children while they?re at it. Duterte is fucked in the head and I hope someone puts a bullet in his. He?s like the bastard half brother of Don Jon Trump if trump wasn?t a totally pussy. I wish the Catholic Church would officially condemn the dirty SOB for a country that is majority catholic that would send a good message. The Philippines had enough issues before Duterte like extreme poverty and the insurgency in the south. Now he?s pushed his country back a few hundred years

  15. #40
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    3,753
    Rep Power
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by CPF$ View Post
    This is an excuse for one dealer to kill another to claim their territory. Someone with a personal vendetta against you can now just say you used drugs so they can kill you. And your children while they?re at it. Duterte is fucked in the head and I hope someone puts a bullet in his. He?s like the bastard half brother of Don Jon Trump if trump wasn?t a totally pussy. I wish the Catholic Church would officially condemn the dirty SOB for a country that is majority catholic that would send a good message. The Philippines had enough issues before Duterte like extreme poverty and the insurgency in the south. Now he?s pushed his country back a few hundred years

    Well there's another issue now President Duterte is now accused of inciting assassination's of mayors note the conspiracy theories are raging right now over the deaths of these mayors. Note you have pro-Duterte people accusing the dead mayors of corruption and being registered drug dealers in the allegations. But you have anti-Duterte people saying that these assassinated mayors were critics of the President.

  16. #41
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Posts
    22
    Rep Power
    0
    Quote Originally Posted by raisedbywolves View Post
    Holy shit! Did you just say something sensible? I think I'm going to sign off now, my mind is blown.

    Why are you following me around. U may be a know it all, senior top level 10 MDS member, but this is like mall security level shit that u doing

  17. #42
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Posts
    22
    Rep Power
    0
    Glad to know I have a superfan in you

  18. #43
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    3,753
    Rep Power
    0

  19. #44
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    3,753
    Rep Power
    0
    http://tempo.com.ph/2018/07/13/polit...e-mayors-slay/

    Now in this report Politics has been cited for why some of the Assassinations took place.

  20. #45
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    3,753
    Rep Power
    0
    http://www.mindanews.com/top-stories...ting-incident/

    Now a District leader in Mindanao has been assassinated in the Philippines.

  21. #46
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    3,753
    Rep Power
    0
    http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1012229...-down-in-albay

    https://www.rappler.com/nation/20774...aster-ambushed


    Now a radio host in the Philippines has been killed. The victim has been Identified as Joey Llana . motive is not known at this time.

  22. #47
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    3,753
    Rep Power
    0
    https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/w...erte-1.5437229

    ANother take on the Davao Death squad

    The body of 22-year-old pedicab driver Eric Sison lies in a coffin in a Manila slum with a chick pacing across his casket, placed there in keeping with a local tradition to symbolically peck at the conscience of his killers.

    Cellphone video footage circulating on social media purports to capture the moment Sison was killed last month when, according to local officials, police were looking for drug pushers in the Pasay township of the Philippines' capital.

    A voice on the video, recorded by a neighbour according to newspaper reports, can be heard shouting "Don't do it, I'll surrender!". Then there is the sound of gunfire.

    A poster near the coffin, which lies beside a stinking canal cut between ramshackle homes, demands "Justice for Eric Quintinita Sison". A handpainted sign reads: "OVERKILL - JUSTICE 4 ERIC."

    These are rare tokens of protest against a surge of killings unleashed since Rodrigo Duterte became president of the Philippines in 2016 and pledged to wage war on drug dealers and crush widespread addiction to methamphetamine.

    Very little stands in the way of his bloody juggernaut.

    Last week the number of people killed since July 1 reached 2,400: about 900 died in police operations, and the rest are "deaths under investigation", a term human rights activists say is a euphemism for vigilante and extrajudicial killings.

    Duterte's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this report.

    Reuters interviews reveal that the police's Internal Affairs Service (IAS) and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) are so overwhelmed by the killings that they can investigate only a fraction, and there is scant hope of establishing many as unlawful because witnesses are too terrified to come forward.


    Meanwhile, the immense popularity of Duterte's crusade and a climate of fear whipped up by the bloodletting have together silenced dissent from civil society. Hardly anyone turned up at candlelight vigils in Manila recently to protest against extrajudicial killings.

    Even as the death toll rose, a July poll by Pulse Asia put Duterte's approval rating at 91 percent.

    Anxious reminders by the Catholic Church of the commandment 'thou shalt not kill' make few headlines in the predominantly Catholic country, with newspapers preferring to carry breathless accounts of the latest slayings.

    Duterte has delivered withering attacks on his chief critic, Senator Leila de Lima, accusing her of dealing in drugs herself and having an affair with her driver.

    "It's only the president who can stop this," de Lima told Reuters last week, deploring what she described as the "madness" that led in one case to a five-year-old girl being shot in the head.

    "How many more of these cases of collateral damage are we willing to bear before we can really start screaming about it?" she asked.

    As for critics abroad, Duterte pours scorn on them in language larded with curses.

    He lambasted the United Nations after it criticised the surge in killings and he turned down a meeting with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at a summit in Laos this week.

    Duterte was scheduled to meet Barack Obama in Laos on Tuesday. The meeting was canclled after Duterte called the U.S. president the 'son of a whore' in a news conference the day before. Prior to the comment, Duterte has made it clear he will take no lecture on human rights from the U.S. president, when in the United States he alleged "black people are being shot even if they are already lying down".

    The Philippines scrambled to defuse a row with the United States on Tuesday and its new president, Rodrigo Duterte, voiced regret for calling President Barack Obama a "son of a bitch", comments that prompted Washington to call off a bilateral meeting.

    The tiff between the two allies overshadowed the opening of a summit of East and Southeast Asian nations in Laos.

    It also soured Obama's last swing as president through a region he has tried to make a focus of U.S. foreign policy, a strategy widely seen as a response to China's economic and military muscle-flexing.

    He said in a speech as the summit got under way that his push to make the United States a key player in Asia-Pacific was not some "passing fad".

    However, diplomats say strains with longtime ally the Philippines could compound Washington's difficulties in forging a united front with Southeast Asian partners on the geostrategic jostle with Beijing over the South China Sea.

    Duterte has bristled repeatedly at criticism over his "war on drugs."

    Activists and families of eight victims of the Philippines' "war on drugs" filed a complaint on Tuesday with the International Criminal Court (ICC), a second petition accusing President Rodrigo Duterte of murder and crimes against humanity.

    The 50-page complaint calls for Duterte's indictment for what it describes as thousands of extrajudicial killings, which include "brazen" executions by police acting with impunity.

    Critics of Duterte's fierce anti-narcotics campaign were being "persecuted", it said, and cases filed by the victims' families had gone nowhere.

    The ICC petition, formally referred to as a communication, follows a similar complaint filed in April 2017 by a Filipino lawyer, into which the ICC in February started a preliminary examination.



    The latest move is led by a network of activists, priests and members of the urban poor communities that have borne the brunt of Duterte's crackdown. The complaint includes testimony from six relatives of eight people killed by police.

    "Duterte is personally liable for ordering state police to undertake mass killings," Neri Colmenares, a lawyer representing the group, told reporters, moments after he said the complaint had been sent to the ICC.

    Duterte says he has told police to kill only if their lives were in danger. In his annual address to the nation last month, he said the drugs war would be as "relentless and chilling" as its first two years.

    Police say the more than 4,400 killed over that time were dealers who had all resisted arrest, and deny activists' allegations of cover-ups and executions of drug users.

    PREFERS A DICTATOR

    last week Duterte said graft and illicit drugs were so entrenched in the Philippines that if he were not around, it would be better off run by a dictator such as late strongman Ferdinand Marcos.

    In a speech on Thursday, Duterte reiterated that he wanted to quit before his term ends in 2022, but was reluctant to hand power to Leni Robredo, the vice president who was elected separately and was not his running mate.



    Robredo has been a critic of the president's deadly war on drugs. Duterte said there would be disorder if his crackdown was halted, and the Philippines could do with an authoritarian at the helm.

    "You're better off choosing a dictator of the likes of Marcos, that's what I suggested," Duterte said. "Constitutional succession, it's Robredo. But she cannot hack it."

    Duterte's expressed admiration for the much-vilified Marcos has been controversial, with many Filipinos still tormented by his brutal two-decade rule, ended in his overthrow in a popular, army-backed uprising in 1986.

    Thousands of people were arrested, killed, tortured or disappeared under martial law in the 1970s.

    Many survivors are reminded of that by the political influence wielded by the Marcos family, with widow Imelda a congresswoman, his son and namesake a former senator who lost to Robredo in the 2016 vice presidential election, and daughter, Imee Marcos a provincial governor.

    Imee Marcos, 62, is expected to run for the senate next year and attends or speaks at many of Duterte's public events around the country, despite having no role in his administration.

    She caused outrage last week when she said it was time for older Filipinos to "move on" from the martial law years, like younger ones had.

    The mercurial Duterte, 73, has been talking more often about retiring, due to exasperation about corruption and narcotics. Rumours have spread that he is in declining health, which he dismissed on Thursday as "fake news".

  23. #48
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    3,753
    Rep Power
    0
    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/philipp...e-death-squad/

    Update

    MANILA, Philippines -- A Roman Catholic priest who was one of the earliest critics of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's deadly crackdown on drugs has gone into hiding due to what he says were signs he's being targeted by motorcycle-riding hitmen. The Rev. Amado Picardal said Monday that he has gone into a "more secure location" and out of the public view after workers in a Catholic monastery that he visits in central Cebu city reported seeing motorcycle-riding men watching the compound, including a pair who asked for his whereabouts.

    "I couldn't go out for biking, running, walking due to security concerns," Picardal said in an email in response to questions about his safety concerns, which he first disclosed in a personal blog.

    "I have left my hermitage in the mountain and transferred to a more secure location to continue my life as a hermit far away out of reach from the death squad," he said.

    The 63-year-old priest said that he helped document alleged extrajudicial killings under Duterte's campaign when Duterte was still mayor of southern Davao city and that he would continue criticizing the killings despite his safety concerns.

    Picardal added that he is willing to testify if asked by the International Criminal Court, where a complaint against Duterte in relation to the drug killings is being examined.

    Duterte has denied condoning killings under the crackdown, which according to official police pronouncements has left more than 4,500 suspects dead since he took office in mid-2016. International human rights watchdogs have cited far higher death tolls, which they said included innocent children and civilians.

    Duterte draws outrage by calling God "stupid"
    The tough-talking president has often cited the killings and wounding of many policemen in anti-narcotics raids as proof of the fatal risks that prompt law enforcers to open fire on drug suspects. Human rights groups, which have looked into some of the killings, however, have reported cases where policemen killed unarmed suspects but later made them appear to have violently resisted.

    Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Picardal should file for a so-called writ of amparo "if there's basis for his fears," referring to a high court petition that aims to protect the human rights of anybody who feels threatened by state forces.

    Picardal gained public attention with his cross-country biking to protest the drug killings and promote peace talks with communist rebels.

    When he was assigned in Davao, Picardal said he compiled a report on drug killings from 1998 to 2015, when Duterte served as mayor of the vast port city, and spoke for a nongovernment coalition that opposed extrajudicial killings and helped the Commission on Human Rights investigate the deaths.

    Duterte has said none of those investigations turned up any evidence against him. Picardal said the investigations failed to pin down Duterte then because witnesses against him "were scared to testify." A number of witnesses linking Duterte to the killings, however, have turned up in Senate investigations after Duterte rose to the presidency, Picardal said, adding that he has helped provide sanctuary to former members of the so-called "Davao death squads" who may testify before the ICC.

    "This is most likely one of the reasons that I am being targeted by the death squad," Picardal said.

    In an interview with The Associated Press in May 2016, Picardal recounted how he helped poor families bury young men killed by gunmen in Davao after being linked to illegal drugs. He said then that a Duterte presidency was "very frightening" and warned that human rights groups would need to keep a close watch and document any violations due to Duterte's threat to replicate his anti-crime style in Davao to the rest of the country.

    Picardal said in his blog late Sunday that he was aware of the danger when he took up his human rights advocacy. "I am ready to accept martyrdom if they catch up with me, but I do not seek it nor do I make myself an easy target," he said.

  24. #49
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    3,753
    Rep Power
    0
    Another Update on the Squad

    https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/ri...ruben-carranza

    MANILA, Philippines ? The welfare of the families left behind should not be compromised as accountability is being pursued over the thousands of deaths under President Rodrigo Duterte's bloody anti-drug campaign.

    According to international human rights lawyer Ruben Carranza, ensuring support for the families would help them in their grueling quest for justice for their loved ones.

    "I think what's important is to ensure that families of victims, witnesses to the extrajudicial killings, receive the kind of support that they need, economically and socially, especially given that this is going to be a long process," he told Rappler editor-at-large Marites Vitug on Friday, September 7.

    Duterte's anti-drug campaign has claimed the lives of more than 4,500 people in police operations. But human rights groups estimate the number of fatalities at more than 20,000, including victims of vigilante killings. (READ: The Impunity Series)

    Victims' families also face several problems amid the climate of impunity, including being harassed and threatened as they file cases against alleged perpetrators, who are usually policemen.

    This reality, according to Carranza, is the reason why witness protection is very important.

    "Witness protection requires more than a government program, especially here where it is the government that stands accused of extrajudicial killings," he said.

    Not taking care of possible witnesses who may be subjected to harassment can lead to problems. For example, witnesses in Kenya were "intimidated and are frightened."

    Carranza also said human rights groups and lawyers must pursue accountability everywhere, not just before the International Criminal Court. (READ: ICC's track record and what it means for Duterte and the PH)

    They should be ready "for any opportunity that arises that will help them pursue accountability."

    "It can be a local court, a transition in which a new government decides it can actually prosecute crimes against humanity and extrajudicial killings committed in the country, and they can prepare for a United Nations commission of inquiry," Carranza said. ? Rappler.com

  25. #50
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    3,753
    Rep Power
    0
    https://negroschronicle.com/a-dangerous-man-indeed/

    Update an editorial on the Duterte era is at play here.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •