Pubdate: Fri, 09 Dec 2016
Source: Metro (Toronto, CN ON)
Copyright: 2016 Metro Canada
Contact:  http://www.metronews.ca/toronto
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3462
Author: Gilbert Ngabo
Page: 10

TORONTO FILIPINOS WORRY ABOUT HOME

Philippines' police have shot more than 3,000 to death

Thousands of kilometres away from her hometown of Samar in the south
of Philippines, Sonia Pormarca Carreon has been finding it hard to
sleep.

"I have four sons in that country. And the police is shooting people
every day," said the Scarborough resident ,who came to Toronto more
than two years ago as a live-in caregiver. "Honestly, I am very
worried about their lives. I know they have not done anything wrong
but the situation is so scary."

The situation she's referring to is the ongoing war on drugs, which
President Rodrigo Duterte unleashed after he took office in July.
Reports say more than 3,000 people have been shot to death by police
officers during anti-drug operations since then.

The crackdown has drawn criticism from politicians, including Barrack
Obama, observers and human rights defenders, who accuse the government
of extrajudicial killings of unarmed people simply because they're
suspected of drug trafficking.

The violent scenes playing out across the country are in sharp
contrast with what Carreon remembers. It felt peaceful to walk on the
streets of Manila when she was there. Now, she and others are afraid
to return.

"What the president is doing is not legal and it's not diplomatic,"
she said, noting the best approach to deal with drugs would be a fair
trial for the accused and a chance for them to turn their lives around
if found guilty.

Ernie Reyes, a Filipino-Canadian who's lived in Toronto for the past
23 years, said it's alarming to see the country's descent into chaos.

"I don't like drugs. I hate drugs," he said. "But there should be a
better way to deal with those accused than just shoot people."
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MAP posted-by: Matt