Deaths under inquiry by PNP hit 1,784

MANILA, Philippines - Over a thousand suspected drug offenders have been killed in Metro Manila by alleged vigilante groups, records from the Philippine National Police (PNP) revealed yesterday.

Based on PNP records, there were a total of 1,784 cases of killings that were classified as “deaths under investigation” (DUI) by the police.

The records said a total of 2,294 suspected drug offenders were killed in 2,105 reported incidents from July 2 to Oct. 3.

The remaining 1,390 persons were killed in legitimate police actions where the suspects had fought it out with arresting lawmen, the PNP’s National Operations Center said.

The high incidence of summary killings triggered reports of a state-sanctioned death squad roaming the metropolis to carry out President Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs.

Duterte yesterday promised to end the drug menace within his term.

“End this problem while I’m still in office. Work on it. No one will go to jail. Do not be afraid,” Duterte told the policemen at Camp Rafael Rodriguez in Butuan City.

“Now is the time to kill a criminal correctly,” he said.

Duterte, a former prosecutor and mayor of Davao City where he built a reputation for tough anti-crime methods, won the presidential election earlier this year on a promise to end criminality and corruption in the first three to six months of his presidency.

He encouraged police and even ordinary citizens to shoot suspected drug dealers if they resist arrest, and promised cash rewards if they turn in drug lords.

The rising body count has shocked the world and sparked alarm among global human rights groups, fearing the total could be far higher as vigilantes have joined the spree.

Duterte, however, said the global criticisms are interference in the country’s internal affairs. He stressed in many public speeches that he is only out to protect the future of Filipinos and their children and grandchildren.

No death squads

However, Chief Supt. Oscar Albayalde, director of the National Capital Region Police Office, denied death squads are behind the killings.

“I can say there are no death squads here in Metro Manila. There is no order to create a death squad. Our orders are to put up dedicated focus teams that will go after the high value targets on illegal drugs like suppliers, and big time dealers to complement the effort of the PDEA,” he said, referring to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.

Albayalde said the government campaign against illegal drugs in Metro Manila had been successful as the PDEA had identified 94 percent of 1,706 barangays in the metropolis were into illegal drugs.

He said the instruction of President Duterte and PNP chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa was to focus on the campaign against illegal drugs by accounting for and arresting drug offenders.

Albayalde gave assurance the police are not ignoring the cases of DUI, saying the five police district directors were tasked to investigate cases of drug-related killings in their areas.

He said the PNP has a check and balance system built in against abusive policemen.

“We have the Internal Affairs Service, even the CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group) and the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation),” he said.

Dela Rosa, for his part, urged the public to focus on the number of arrested suspects and those who had surrendered.

He pointed out the intensified campaign against illegal drugs also resulted in the decrease of criminality.

The PDEA added the rising prices of illegal drugs are an indication that the government is winning the war.

“When the market price of illegal drugs rises, it is generally assessed that there is a scarcity in supply available in the market and vice-versa, an indication that the present government is winning the war against the drug menace,” PDEA director general Isidro Lapeña said.

He said the scarcity of shabu in the country has effectively increased the price of the illegal drug by an average of 127.7 percent, the highest since 2002.

“The cost of shabu has reached an all-time high, thanks to the revitalized national anti-drug campaign. We have successfully minimized the supply of shabu in the market and currently maximizing our drug-demand reduction efforts in the communities to complement the former,” Lapeña said. – Giovanni Nilles, Romina Cabrera, Robertzon Ramirez