July 13, 201610 yr Philippine President 'Duterte Harry' acts on pledge to kill drug dealers MANILA — Controversial Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who campaigned on a vow to kill 100,000 criminals, is making good on his promise less than two weeks into his term. In that short span, he has left a bloody trail of drug world executions that is drawing alarm from human rights groups and opposition politicians. Duterte was sworn in on June 30, and within the first week of his presidency 72 accused drug dealers were killed by police and vigilante groups, according to a "Kill List" compiled by the newspaper Philippine Inquirer. Dating back to Duterte's election victory on May 10, the figure jumps to 119. Last weekend, police reported nine more killings, including an unidentified man found in Manila with his head wrapped in tape and a cardboard sign on his torso reading: "I Am a Pusher." Human rights lawyer Jose Manuel Diokno, national chairman of the Free Legal Assistance Group, called the spate of killings "a nuclear explosion of violence." “Do we really want to give the man with the gun the power to judge who are criminals and to kill them? To decide who is bad and who is good, who deserves to live and who deserves to die?" he wrote in a blog for the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. The killings also have drawn condemnation from international rights groups. "Human Rights Watch is concerned that President Duterte's electoral platform, which included repeated promises to kill those deemed to be criminals and drug dealers, may be interpreted by some as a legitimization of the unlawful concept of extrajudicial killings as an acceptable approach to crime control," said Phelim Kine, the group's Asia deputy director. "Not only does each case need to be investigated, but it’s crucial there be an inquiry into the surge in killings since June 30 and action taken to put an end to it." Duterte, whose incendiary rhetoric has earned him comparisons to Donald Trump, campaigned on a platform of law and order and ending corruption. The seven-term mayor of Davao, a city on the restive southern island of Mindanao, was wildly popular for solving the city’s drug and crime problems. But his tactics, which earned him nicknames such as “The Punisher” and “Duterte Harry,” included more than 1,000 extrajudicial killings using death squads, according to rights groups.
July 13, 201610 yr It's not hard to understand the frustration in the Phillippines. Things have gotten bad there in recent years. But we either have a society where the rule of law matters or one where it doesn't. Once we start picking and choosing who is entitled to benefit of law, we've lost the law completely. I'm sure the president wants to retake the parts of cities that have been lost to drug gangs, but it seems to me like he'll only succeed in starting a war.
July 13, 201610 yr Author It's not hard to understand the frustration in the Phillippines. Things have gotten bad there in recent years. But we either have a society where the rule of law matters or one where it doesn't. Once we start picking and choosing who is entitled to benefit of law, we've lost the law completely. I'm sure the president wants to retake the parts of cities that have been lost to drug gangs, but it seems to me like he'll only succeed in starting a war. Sounds like he already has... Filipino drug lords pitch in to raise $21 million for ‘Kill Duterte’ fund THE Philippines’ most notorious drug and crime lords are pooling their wealth to raise P1 billion (US$21 million) for a bounty on incoming President Rodrigo Duterte and several others. According to the INQUIRER.net, the crime bosses were mostly drug lords currently inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) who are making a bid to have the Davao city mayor, his anointed Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, a senator and another government official killed. A source told the news site that the high-profile inmates decided to start the ‘Kill Duterte fund’ after no one took up the 50 million peso (US$1.084 million) reward for the ‘hit’ on Duterte and the Chief Supt. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa. That bounty was increased from P10 million (US$216,980) to P50 million as there were no takers. “Not only one person will pay, but people from different organizations,” the source said. “There are probably 20 main players.” The source said each the main players would pitch in P50 million for the fund, bringing the total fund to P1 billion. Duterte has encouraged the public to help him in his war against crime and urged citizens with guns to shoot and kill drug dealers who resist arrest. He told the public that they would be rewarded if they helped him in the war against criminal elements.
July 13, 201610 yr I've always maintained if you really wanted to win the war on drugs things would have to be done that most civilized people would not like. I'm not saying I agree with it but...
July 13, 201610 yr I've always maintained if you really wanted to win the war on drugs things would have to be done that most civilized people would not like. I'm not saying I agree with it but... True, heroin dealing is just to profitable for jail to be a realistic deterrent. You lock up one and two more fill in for that dealer. China has pretty much ridded the country of drugs by making trafficking a capital offense. Not saying I want to go there but it is the only way to get rid of drugs.
July 13, 201610 yr Good friend is from the Philippines, still has family there. They are a well off family for that country. The stories of day to day life involving kidnappings, drugs and terrorism is down right scary. This new guy might be on to something, this isn't your run of the mill street gang he's dealing with.
July 13, 201610 yr Sounds like he already has... Filipino drug lords pitch in to raise $21 million for ‘Kill Duterte’ fund THE Philippines’ most notorious drug and crime lords are pooling their wealth to raise P1 billion (US$21 million) for a bounty on incoming President Rodrigo Duterte and several others. According to the INQUIRER.net, the crime bosses were mostly drug lords currently inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) who are making a bid to have the Davao city mayor, his anointed Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, a senator and another government official killed. A source told the news site that the high-profile inmates decided to start the ‘Kill Duterte fund’ after no one took up the 50 million peso (US$1.084 million) reward for the ‘hit’ on Duterte and the Chief Supt. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa. That bounty was increased from P10 million (US$216,980) to P50 million as there were no takers. “Not only one person will pay, but people from different organizations,” the source said. “There are probably 20 main players.” The source said each the main players would pitch in P50 million for the fund, bringing the total fund to P1 billion. Duterte has encouraged the public to help him in his war against crime and urged citizens with guns to shoot and kill drug dealers who resist arrest. He told the public that they would be rewarded if they helped him in the war against criminal elements. Pretty gutsy on their part. He already has them in prison, how hard would it be to add them to his body count?
July 13, 201610 yr This president has decided there is no rule of law or freedom in that country.Sure there is. His.
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