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Rodrigo Duterte pulls Philippine police out of brutal war on drugs Rodrigo Duterte pulls Philippine police out of brutal war on drugs
(about 5 hours later)
The Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte, has ordered police to halt activities in his deadly war on drugs and leave all operations to the drug enforcement agency amid unprecedented scrutiny of police conduct. Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has ordered police to end all operations in his deadly war on drugs after a 15-month campaign in which officers have killed thousands.
Duterte’s office made public a memorandum telling police, the military and other state bodies to leave the conduct of all campaigns and operations to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) “as sole agency”. Duterte’s office released a public memorandum telling police, the military and other state bodies to leave the conduct of all campaigns and operations to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
It was unclear why Duterte had ordered the change in the role of the police, who have been responsible for the vast majority of arrests and killings in the 15-month campaign. The agency’s 1,800 staff make up just over 1% of the 160,000-strong national police, meaning the new order could significantly reduce the extrajudicial killings.
Neither the presidential spokesman nor the communications secretary immediately responded to requests for comment. The statement did not specify why Duterte, nicknamed “the Punisher” for his blood-soaked approach to policing, had made the change.
The order could blunt the intensity of the crackdown, since the drug enforcement agency is only a fraction of the size of the 190,000-strong police force. But it is not the first time the mercurial leader has decreed that the agency should lead the drugs war. It comes at a time of waning public support for country-wide operations that police say have killed more than 3,900 “drug personalities” since last July, although activists say these are alleged drug users and suspected small-time dealers.
Duterte suspended police anti-drugs operations in late January, to cleanse a force he called “corrupt to the core”, but lifted that ban five weeks later, saying drugs were flooding back to the streets and the gains of the war were being lost. More than 2,000 other people have also been killed in drug-related crimes and thousands more murdered in unexplained circumstances, according to police data.
The memorandum, signed on Tuesday, orders the police force at all times to “maintain police visibility, as a deterrent to illegal activities”, while restricting operations to the drug agency. Its aim is “to bring order to the operation or campaign against illegal drugs, thus pinpointing precise accountability”, the document says. It was the second time the leader decreed that the agency should lead the drugs war. He suspended police anti-drugs operations in late January, to cleanse a force he called “corrupt to the core”, but rescinded the decision five weeks later.
More than 3,900 Filipinos have been killed in what the police have called self-defence after armed suspects resisted arrest. Critics dispute that and say murders are taking place with zero accountability. The memorandum, signed on Tuesday, orders officers at all times to “maintain police visibility, as a deterrent to illegal activities”. Its aim is “to bring order to the operation or campaign against illegal drugs”, the document says.
Police and drug enforcement agency spokesman said the two agencies would follow the president’s decision, but did not elaborate. The mercurial leader has rebuffed any criticism and said he is “happy to slaughter” millions of addicts, evening dismissing the deaths of children as “collateral damage”.
Duterte’s move follows the August killing of a teenager by police that sparked rare public outrage after a security camera showed the victim in custody, contrary to a police report that he was a drug dealer who tried to shoot them. The killing of a 17-year-old student in August sparked nationwide protests and multiple government investigations. Like many of the shootings, police alleged they were acting in self-defence after he resisted arrest. But this time, security camera footage showed the teenager was in custody before he died.
It also follows a protest against Duterte last month by thousands of people in Manila, and a series of opinion polls highlighting doubts among many Filipinos about official police accounts, and whether those killed were all drug dealers. A poll released on Sunday showed a sharp decline in public opinion about Duterte’s performance and personality, although sentiment about him remained positive overall. The former mayor and prosecutor from outside the Manila-based elite have remained popular domestically throughout his tenure.
A poll released on Sunday showed a sharp decline in public opinion about Duterte’s performance and personality, though sentiment about him remained positive overall. International support has been mixed. The European Union had previously cited “credible reports” that Philippine police falsify evidence to justify extrajudicial killings.
Human rights lawyers on Wednesday approached the supreme court to try to stop the war on drugs, saying it was illegal and allowed the police to circumvent legal procedure. Under Barack Obama, relations soured between the former US colony and Washington when Duterte called the US leader a “son of a whore” following repeated human rights complaints.
Since then, Manila has increasingly looked to Beijing and Moscow as new backers. Duterte said on Wednesday that Russia was giving 5,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles to the Philippines, believed to be the first ever shipment of Russian weapons. The cache would follow around 6,000 guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition donated by China earlier this year.
Donald Trump, however, has praised Duterte for what he said was an “unbelievable job” in a fight against illegal drugs.
Reuters contributed to this report