Take a deeper look into drug war situation, President Duterte tells CHR
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte talks to the people after holding a meeting with the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) core members at the MalacaΓ±ang Golf (Malago) Clubhouse in MalacaΓ±ang Park, Manila on June 14, 2021. KING RODRIGUEZ/ PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO
President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday, June 14, called upon the Commission on Human Rights to take a second look at the administration’s war on drugs, saying lives are lost in the fight against illicit narcotics trade because the police are fighting armed criminals.
“Para
‘to sa mga tao na ayaw maniwala ng may namatay na mga tao in the prosecution of
the drug war,” he said during his weekly Talk to the People.
“Kita
mo naman o may patay pero kita mo ‘yong nahuli sa operations, it’s 1,000. May
araw na mag-2,000, 1,000. Hindi bababa ng 1,000 ang mga nasa droga.”
During
a meeting with the President, Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo
Ano presented a chart showing the latest government’s drug bust where suspects
were killed during operations. The latest anti-drug campaign confiscated a
total of P1.2 billion worth of drugs within a week.
“You
would notice that there are really persons who die almost daily because ‘yan
ito lumaban talaga at hindi kasali ang pulis ko na may tama at namatay rin,” he
said.
President
Duterte then warned CHR not to threaten the police fighting drug traffickers,
stressing he won’t allow opening of records containing sensitive details on
police investigations and operations.
Investigation
records and state secrets cannot be divulged to the public, since it could
hinder with the police personnel’s drug operations, investigation and
surveillance, he said.
“Hindi
nga puwedeng i-open ‘yan eh. ‘Pag makita ninyo, baka makita ninyo ‘yong
pangalan ninyo, kayo pala ang nagbibigay ng mga impormasyon sa pulis,” he said.
“Pero
kung sabihin mo ‘yong engkwentro, paano namatay, paano sinugod, okay ‘yan,
walang problema tayo diyan.”
“Ang
problema diyan kay kung makita ninyo --- pati tatay mo makita mo ‘yong pangalan
diyan, naloko na. Iyan ang ano, iyan ang intindihin ninyo.”
The
proliferation of illegal drugs has been going on for years, he said, and there
are current surges in the number of deaths of drug suspects because of a more
intensified police anti-drug campaign.
“With
the advent of this --- itong nauso na itong human rights investigation, pati
ako, naimbestiga ako ng Human Rights Commission headed by de Lima,” he said.
“Tapos
‘yong siya na ‘yong naging Secretary of Justice, inimbestiga niya ako. Walang
nangyari, walang rekomendasyon, wala lahat. Puro lang 'yong aspersions, ‘yong
mga salita na ganoon.”
Defending
the police, the President said law enforcers know that they cannot randomly
kill during drug busts without reasons since they know that they could be held
accountable later on. PND
