Church group urges Duterte to stop killings

MANILA, Philippines — Eddie Villanueva, founder of the Jesus Is Lord Church, has joined calls against extrajudicial killings in the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.

During the 39th anniversary of Jesus is Lord (JIL) Church held at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila last Friday, Villanueva assured President Duterte of support to the government’s efforts to combat illegal drugs, but stressed that the killing of drug suspects violates God’s sixth commandment – thou shall not kill.

“We support the resolve of President Duterte to get rid of the drug menace in the country. But we would also like to remind everyone of the 6th commandment – Thou shall not kill. No one has the right to take another person’s life,” Villanueva said in a press briefing.

He said the drive to rid the country of the drug menace should not be done at the expense of due process.

The church leader reminded Duterte, whom he supported in last year’s presidential election, of his campaign promise to uphold God’s agenda for the country should he win the presidency and of his inaugural speech where he said the “adherence to due process and rule of law is non-compromising.”

“I believe the President when he said before the European Union that he never ordered these extrajudicial killings. So I would like to call on our law enforcers not to embarrass our President,” Villanueva appealed.

He also cited the economic impacts, especially in terms of downtrend in foreign direct investments, of the killings.

“As of Oct. 27, the dollar to peso exchange rate is at P51.80. When PRRD started on July 1, 2016, the US dollar to peso rate was at P47.001. For those who understand economics, this is very alarming,” Villanueva added.

Leaders of Christian churches in the country, including the Philippines for Jesus Movement (PJM) and the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PCEC), also joined Villanueva in making calls against killing suspected illegal drug traders, pushers and users.

They also expressed grave concern on the alleged involvement of high-ranking government officials in the trafficking of drugs.  

According to the Philippine National Police, over 3,800 suspects have been killed in police operations. But the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA) contested this, claiming the number should be at least 12,000.        

              – With Rey Galupo