Three hundred eleven, and counting
According to data collected by the ABS-CBN Investigative & Research group, three hundred eleven have been killed in the government campaign against illegal drugs. This is a far cry from the official tally of the PNP at a little more than a hundred.
Of the total from ABS-CBN, two hundred twenty-four were killed by legitimate operations conducted by police officers. That's fine. But eighty-seven of these killings were perpetrated by yet unknown persons. In other words, they were summarily executed by vigilantes. Most even have messages hanging on their necks, or written on the material used to wrap them up in, indicating what kind of criminal they were, and not to become like them.
The message is clear. Vigilantism is alive and very, very well in the country today.
Both President Duterte and PNP Chief General Ronald Dela Rosa were clear in saying they do not condone extrajudicial killings, do not encourage vigilantes, and that whatever eventualities that occur during official police operations must be in accordance with existing laws, and the Constitution. That is to say if the suspects dangerously resist, fight back with weapons, or endanger the lives of police officers, then "kill them," as the President just loves to utter.
Indeed, many of the official operations where the suspects end up dead were due to them apparently fighting back, violently resisting arrest or the very stupid act of going for the officers' guns. These days, it seems going for the officers' guns happen quite frequently.
But the body count by "unknown persons" continues to rise, even in dramatic fashion. Some bodies are not just discovered in a dark, empty lot, but on sidewalks of the busiest areas of Metro Manila. The intention is clear - to strike fear into everyone, not just criminals.
Vigilantes, death squads or whatever else you want to call them seem to have been emboldened by the words of no less than President Duterte and his PNP Chief, who have called for an all-out war on illegal drugs.
I wonder if many have received cash rewards for their deeds, which the President himself has offered.
Is this data covered by the Freedom of Information Bill?
Obviously, the danger here is police officers abusing their authority, either by impressing the President and the PNP hierarchy, or if these are "rub outs" of their own people involved in illegal drug trafficking.
General Dela Rosa has stated that there are already cases being handled by the Internal Affairs Department. Those cases involved suspects who had surrendered but still killed, those who were already incarcerated and still killed. I wonder if these cases will even prosper.
The Commission on Human Rights, an agency that has practically been considered irrelevant by the current administration, encourages the relatives of those killed by abusive police officers to file cases.
But so far those killed belong to the poor of society. How can they afford to file cases against police officers, who have the support and backing of no less than the Solicitor General in the fight against illegal drugs?
Even the Senate is being considered irrelevant with the Solicitor General's advise that the police may snub whatever Senate hearings on the rising death toll of those supposedly involved in illegal drugs.
Reminds me of when former President Arroyo ordered members of her cabinet not to attend Senate hearings. The same was done by former Makati Mayor Junjun Binay. Only the Supreme Court can stop investigations if there is grave abuse of discretion. Is the Supreme Court irrelevant as well?
I guess the killings will continue, despite whatever is "officially" said. The Solicitor General himself said that the current count is not high enough. If I remember right, the target is one hundred thousand bodies in Manila Bay in three to six months.
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