Leni on killings: Senseless and unjust violence must stop

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo on Wednesday condemned the series of extrajudicial killings in the country in recent days and called on authorities to investigate and prosecute those behind them.

"These senseless and unjust violence must stop," Robredo said Tuesday, the same morning that five people were reportedly killed in Malabon in a "drug-related massacre" and another man suspected of being a drug pusher was killed in Quezon City in what the victim's sister said was a case of mistaken identity.

"The rise in extrajudicial killings is a call for all of us to uphold every person’s right to due process. Each of those Filipinos who were killed over alleged crimes were denied their right to a fair trial, and those lives may never be returned to their loved ones," she said.

According to a report on The STAR, 13 drug suspects were killed between July 17 and 19. More than a hundred others have died since June 30, some in anti-drug operations and others by unknown killers.

READ: 13 more killed as drug war continues

"We should not foster a culture of fear in our society — one that tacitly accepts death and one that does not give respect to human life," the vice president said.

"We urge the authorities to seriously investigate these killings and bring those responsible to justice," she also said. Resolutions have already been filed at both the Senate and the House of Representatives calling for probes into the killings but Solicitor General Jose Calida has said that he will defend police from investigations if these are not in aid of legislation.

On Monday, the International Commission of Jurists, an organization of jurists and lawyers around the world, urged President Rodrigo Duterte to take action against the rise in extrajudicial killings.

"We are also concerned by your recent statements that appear to be encouraging extrajudicial killings of those engaged in the sale and distribution of illegal drugs in the Philippines," the ICJ said.

Philippine National Police Director General Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa has said in public that he does not approve of extrajudicial killings. He has also reminded police officers to follow operational procedure in the government's campaign against drugs and crime.

"Please continue the fight. The momentum is ours. [N]andito po kami para suportahan kayo. Remember, huwag po kayong mag-abuso, legitimate operations lang po dapat lahat," he said on July 11. — Jonathan de Santos