Pubdate: Sun, 21 Aug 2016 Source: Philippine Star (Philippines) Column: Postscript Copyright: PhilSTAR Daily Inc. 2016 Contact: http://www.philstar.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/622 Author: Federico D. Pascual Jr. EASE THE MAD RUSH TO EXECUTE SO MANY PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte's campaign promise to stop crime and corruption in six months must be pressuring the police into killing X-number of suspects by his 50th day in office, his 100th, and so forth, in a bloody race to meet the quotas by deadline time. The Commander's shoot-to-kill order (if the suspect fights back, kuno) has seen many police officers committing their first murder, executing suspects whose guilt has not been established and who in some instances were begging for their lives. Some police units that have not killed or arrested enough number of drug suspects to contribute to the quota have been warned. Their low production could be construed as protecting narco personalities in their areas. Ordering state forces to accomplish the IMPOSSIBLE task of wiping out crime and criminals in six months dehumanizes armed personnel, degrades the presidency, embarrasses Filipinos before the world, and invites censure. No wonder, United Nations human rights experts again called on the Duterte administration this week to stop the Extra Judicial Killing (EJK) spree being committed in the name of a cleansing anti-narcotics campaign. Foreign observers must think Filipinos are a nation of barbarians, and so lecture their President, who ironically is a lawyer, that "allegations of drug trafficking offenses should be judged in a court of law, not by gunmen on the streets." As expected, President Duterte lashed back at the UN experts, questioning their focusing on him while not condemning mass killings in other countries. If the EJKs keep up, even the United States, which has pledged $32 million to the anti-drugs drive, might just speak up too. Since former Davao City Mayor Duterte became president 50 days ago, over 1,600 drug suspects have been killed, 665 by the police and the rest by "vigilantes." Some 600,000 more have surrendered or have been arrested. The UN experts stressed the public health aspects of addiction. The administration's failure to cope with the hordes of detained drug users is dramatized by the jampacked jails and rehabilitation centers. Some detainees have slid back for lack of proper intervention. While neglecting rehab requirements, the President has started to make good his promise to the police and the military to double their salaries. Maintaining their morale and loyalty has priority over rehabilitating drugs victims? Quota and deadline pressure on EJK WHAT we said July 28 bears repeating: "Right to life being inherent in the human person, those who believe in the sanctity of life are not likely to withdraw their call that suspected illegal drug users be given a chance to be heard before being silenced on the spot by a bullet. "There are various circumstances that a police officer must sort out in his mind a split-second before pulling the trigger on a suspected drug-user/pusher who is still presumed innocent under the law. "Unfortunately for the officer and his quarry, that decision to kill had been made for him in advance by his superiors acting as God handing down a summary last judgment." We have a suggestion, if a number of us are not comfortable facing the moral dilemma of EJK but are granting the President's bona fides. Let us tell President Duterte that his self-imposed six-month deadline - impossible to meet - can be extended if only to relieve the pressure to rush into a killing orgy, and that we are convinced of his good intentions so he does not have to pile up cadavers to prove himself. The extension will also give the police, social welfare agencies and other cooperating entities more time to put up rehabilitation facilities for the throngs of drug users who want to turn a new leaf. Surely, President Duterte remembers what he said in his State of the Nation Address last July 25: "We will increase the number of residential treatment and rehabilitation facilities in all regions. The armed forces will facilitate the preparation for the use of military camps and facilities for drug rehabilitation." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom