192 alleged drug abusers killed and over 60,000 turned themselves into rehabilitation centers to avoid death.
Ever since Rodrigo Duterte’s landslide win for the Presidency in the Philippines, his commitment to a bloody war on drugs has resulted in a confirmed 192 deaths of major drug dealers in the city.
In a recent speech, President Duterte states:
“If you destroy my country, I will kill you. If you destroy our children, I will kill you. If I am asked by anybody, including the Commission on Human Rights, I do not know you”.
During a visit to police headquarters early this month, Mr. Duterte encouraged officers not to hold back.
“Do your duty, and if in the process you kill 1,000 persons because you were doing your duty, I will protect you,” he said.
In response, over 60,000 drug abusers have turned themselves in to authorities over the past three months in order to avoid being shot on the street. They’ve turned themselves in in such large numbers that rehabilitation centers are unable to cope with the influx of people.
EPA/MARK R. CRISTINO
In a speech late last month, Duterte spoke to a crowd of about 500 people, stating:
“If you know of any addicts, go ahead and kill them yourself”.
He has also given the Philippines’ 4,000 person strong communist rebel army legal rights to kill civilians without a trial.
In addition to the surrendered drug users, at least 43,000 alleged drug traffickers have been “neutralized”, with 300kg of the addictive methamphetamine “Shabu” confiscated.
“Forget the laws on human rights. If I make it to the presidential palace, I will do just what I did as mayor.”
“You drug pushers, hold-up men and do-nothings, you better go out. Because I’d kill you. I’ll dump all of you into Manila Bay, and fatten all the fish there.”
DRUGS IN EAST ASIA
According to a UN report, the Philippines has the highest abuse rate for methamphetamine hydrochloride, or “Shabu”, in East Asia. 2.1% of Filipinos between 16 and 64 were using the drug.
Philippine authorities have seized over 250 kilos of meth, valued at $68 million. While there has been a decline in industrial-sized laboratories based in the Philippines itself, they note that meth has been smuggled in through African-based airlines and in bulk through cargo shipments.
A VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Human rights lawyer Jose Manuel Diokno tells AFP that “[Duterte] has spawned a nuclear explosion of violence that is spiraling out of control and creating a nation without judges.”
Rene Saguisag, a former senator and prominent human rights lawyer has also criticized President Duterte’s harsh methods.
“Do we still probe and have a trial as part of due process? Useless, it seems to me,” Mr. Saguisag wrote in an online column last week.
Credit: EPA/MARK R. CRISTINO
Duterte has also come under fire by the Citizens Council on Human Rights (CCHR), who believe that anti-illegal drugs and criminality campaign is worsening violence and lawlessness in the country. They urge the government to stop killing suspected drug dealers and allow them the right to due process and a fair trial.
The United Nations shares the opinion of the CCHR, having stated that “people do not lose their human rights because they use drugs. Other major organizations such as the World Health Organization believe that drugs should be decriminalized and rehabilitated, which goes starkly against Duterte’s current violent stance.
President Duterte has promised to eradicate crime and corruption within 6 months of his presidency, using whatever tactics necessary.
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this is not true!
He said if you know any drug lords, then you can arrest them and if they resist and put your life in danger then you can kill them…
its the government that brings all drugs in so they make big cash,watch the documentary on it,its done by dezine like everything else
I know what you are talking about, but this is the new government who pledge to stop the drugs in our country. The previous administration has made the Philippines a narco-country. We did not know how rampant and how bad our country was infiltrated with drugs until this guy took office.
It would of helped if you included some cause and effect of the reason behind Duterte’s decision.
I’m glad it’s not my country, but in curious to see if it works. It’s harsh but it might.
That’s the way it needs to be done !
did you have a brain tumor for breakfast? go find out how many people die each year from ALL illicit drug use combined then research how many die from alcohol and tobacco.now tell me should we kill all the bartenders and cigarette vendors since they sell products that kill nearly 7 million people a year whereas all illicit drugs combined aren’t responsible for 50k deaths a year? quit being such a tool and believing everything corrupt politicians shove into that gaping empty space between your ears.or maybe being a subservient bitch suits you?
You m0ron the issue here is not just about drug user but also drug related crimes. Did you kill someone after smoking cigarette because its taxed? Stup1d
You dont know the Philippines maybe. And you dont know our current president. He implimented curfews hours for everyone and even the use of alcohol in public places. Here in Philippines people goes to bars just to drink alcohol at night since it is now prohibited so it will be lessen (not that much because are still allowed to drink at home) also our President is planning to impliment banning the use of cigarette in public areas such as park, sidewalks , etc. Also, the congress is passing a bill that will raise the tax for sin items (liquor, cigaratte, etc.) to discourag ebuyers to buy. Why this drug pushers are now the hoghlight of our country? Because drug lords dont even know what to do. There is even a bounty for the head of our president and police chief who is set by those drug lords and drug lords are now killing each other why? To avoid them being betrayed. Those killings half of them are done by the drug groups 1/4 mayne by vigilante and 1/4 by the police. I tell you, there is a consistency. Btw, those getting killed by liquor are different from those who died with illicit drugs. Why? Liquor and cigarette does not destroys lives but illicit drugs they do. You shouldve research on Philippines before you support your concept by a foreign research. I am not mad at you,i just want people to be knowledge to avoid misinterpretation the happenings in our country. Our country is peaceful but not against drugs.
The article has a lot of misleading facts. Please properly research from the beginning, starting before he was elected. He didn’t want to be the president at the first place, he was forced to be the president of our country. So, he said “If you want me to be the president, you have to follow my rules”. Dont judge us from other countries. We all know that every country has their own drug problems, we have to act againsts corruption and this the BEST choice. All I see in the FB comments is like they think they know what is in our feet.
Research about President Ferdinand Marcos to NoyNoy Aquino. Then we can talk.
Well said….best response I’ve read to date…
Agree with you if he will not do this who will we all knew that some Filipino are stubborn they all knew that drugs like the one prohibited can ruined everyone but still used it
Your comment is misleading. this article is really about violating the human rights. Don’t bring about nog-nog and other past people who no longer exist. Duterte has violated not just the due process of the law to persecute a suspected pusher but also putting all the authority in his hand to end the life of this poor petty drug user and pusher who were merely just a victim by it’s own government. I don’t see high official, influential people who are being killed.
It might work but it’s still inhuman
@ filipino_citizen1
I appreciate your comments as I don’t really understand what’s going on, don’t think I’ve seen much on mainstream media if I’m honest. One thing I’m interested to know is this, is it only drug lords that are at risk of being shot or drug user’s too? What is the difference between a drug lord and a drug dealer? I ask purely out of interest, I’m up for stopping these drug lords getting rich off society but I don’t think I would be able to support the drug user being shot just because they use, that shits dark lol whilst I appreciate it’s early days but I wonder how successful this approach will be and when dealing with the user’s who have entered into rehabilitation (this article indicates thousands of people entering rehab) but the country doesn’t have the resources to cater for them. Doesn’t make much sense as an effective policy to scare these numbers of people into rehabilitation when the country doesn’t have the places. I’m interested to see what happens and will read up some more but I doubt this is going to be effective.
I can tell in my wifes area they are telling us it has returned to the peaceful place it was 20yrs ago before drugs got out of control. All the local pushers and addicts have handed themselves in and 1 was killed.
This is clearly a violation of human rights. The drug addicts need help. It’s the drug lords and those assisting them with their so called “business” that needs to be apprehended. If this is truly his order to go ahead and kill someone if they believe they’re an addict, then Duterte has created a big loophole for people to massacre innocent people!
Then if you kill those druglords, again, CHR will do their human rights human rights violation whatever, the due process will be served “they will be payed with tons of money” then if the druglord is Chinese, they will deport, so long druglord, you are free to make shabu again. A bigloophole of CHR? No?
Anybody ever hear of the Boxer Rebellion?… The Chinese CURED the drug problem in a short time… completely!..
The simply SHOT anybody, regardless of who they were, high born or street skum…. if they were found using opium.. or if they were supplying the drug…
The bathhouses were cleaned out and the participants taken outside, lined up against stone walls and shot dead. The British created “drug problem” was solved practically overnight.
Just amazing how all those “helpless addicts” CURED themselves of their addictions when unrelenting DEATH was staring them in the face. And the suppliers found another way to make a living.
start by killing the tobacco and alcohol dealers since their drugs kill over tenfold as many people year after year than ALL illicit drugs combined.if you support this idiot you are dead from the neck up.drugs existed since the dawn of time and only became a ‘problem’ when governments perpetuated blackmarkets to monetize both the incarceration and sales of drugs from which the governments profit from far more than any/every drug lord.don’t have shit for brains.and don’t wear your balls on your chin,they go below your dick not in your mouth.
So far .2% of the Filipinos distrust Duterte, 99.8% trust him according to Survey..
Right to due process ba kamo? Eh yung due process na sinasabi pang mayayaman lang yun, kung ma serve man sa mahihirap taon ang bibilangin kasi piniperahan muna ng mga pesteng CHR lawyer na yan.
We don’t get to choose our nationality but attitude is a choice.
This all sounds so very harsh. Its as bad as the criminals themselves.
If it works, and crime and killings are vastly reduced, would it actually justify the means to that end?
mE DRUG USER! ME SHIT ON YOUR FACE, YOUR MOM’SFACE(DEAD MOM) AND YOUR CHILDREN’S. mE SHIT ON YOU FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE….
P.S. I SHIT ON YOUR FACE YOU COMMUNIST TRASH BAG! :). I SMILE! yOU SMELL MY SHIT FROM DEAD BODY
P.S. I also shit on anybody who hates drug users!…Oh you don’t hate, but disagree? /I shit on your dead mom too! 🙂
Only small and poor people were killed,those big time Drug Lords are Close to Duterte and finance his candidacy.Some of those killed surrender and turn their selves to the authority.Don’t believe some of the news taken from media networks for they act now as propagandist and State media Network of the government.