Warning: Very graphic images are included in this article
Drug abuse and trafficking has always been a major concern that haunts the Philippines where two most common drugs found on the streets are methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu) and marijuana.
On May 30th this year Rodrigo Duterte was declared as the president of Philippines. Despite being the oldest president elected in the history of the country, Duterte has already earned a reputation of ‘The Punisher’ and appropriately so.
Nipping the issue in the bud, President Duterte has given the green light to police officials to kill any suspected drug users/pusher.
Yes, they don’t even have to be convicted and police officers are able to shoot on sight should they resist arrest and refuse to surrender.
Just within a short span between July 1 and July 24, the human rights group has reported the death toll at a shocking 293, reports Daily Mail.
Bloody bodies of suspected druggies or pushers line the streets of Manila as authorities carry out their duty to crack down the drug trade that has plagued the country for so long.
Cardboard signs that read “I am a drug pusher” or “I am a drug addict” can be found on the bodies that have been shot down without given a proper or fair trial. Some of the people who were killed also had yellow duct tape masked around their heads.
But it does not stop there, Duterte has vowed that 100,00 people would be killed.
“So many bodies would be dumped in Manila Bay that the fish there would grow fat from feeding on them” he said during an election campaign, according to the South China Morning Post.
“We will not stop until the last drug lord, the last financier and the last pusher have surrendered or been put behind bars … or below ground if you wish.”
“Double your efforts. Triple them if need be,” he told the police.
Duterte has also assured police that he would pardon any legal complications that come from the killings.
“These sons of w****s are destroying our children. I warn you, don’t go into that, even if you’re a policeman, because I will really kill you,” the President said when he spoke in Manila.
The President also appointed Solicitor General Jose Calida who spoke during a press conference, “To me, that is not enough.”
“How many drug addicts or pushers are there in the Philippines? Our villages are almost saturated (with drugs).”
Jose Manuel Diokno, Philippine’s top human rights lawyer countered that Duterte has “spawned a nuclear explosion of violence that is spiralling out of control and creating a nation without judges”.
“I am here to encourage the (police) not to be afraid of any congressional or senate investigations. We will defend them … I am the defender of the (police),” Calida said addressing the criticism.
Recently, some 60,000 drug users/pushers have voluntarily surrendered themselves to the government when Duterte encouraged the public to join the massacre, “go ahead and kill” during a campaign, early July. As opposed to the death toll, the number of people surrendered indicated that his harsh campaign may actually be effective.
Local reports have revealed that a minimal of 43,000 alleged drug traffickers have been ‘neutralized’ and 300kg of shabu has been secured.
Duterte’s method has caused so much bloodshed, that everyone across the globe had their jaws wide open. His campaign has been dubbed “The Purge”.
