DID "The Punisher" just own up to the killing of druggies? President Duterte has admitted the government's lack of funds for the rehabilitation of drug dependents had led to the deaths of suspected drug lords. Since he assumed the presidency on June 30, almost 2,000 alleged drug pushers and users had died in police operations and vigilante killings. Speaking before members of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) in Malacanang Monday night, the President said his administration did not have the money to finance recovery programs for some 700,000 drug users who had turned themselves in to police. [continues 85 words]
Define Human Being, Duterte Tells Rights Groups DAVAO CITY - Junkies are not humans. That is how President Duterte sees drug users whose bodies are piling up as he presses his brutal war on drugs. International human rights groups and the United Nations have raised concern about the killings, but Mr. Duterte, addressing soldiers at a military camp in his hometown Davao City on Friday night, said those groups should review their concept of human rights. "These human rights (advocates) did not count those who were killed before I became President. The children who were raped and mutilated [by drug users]," he said. [continues 810 words]
Resents Criticisms of His Antidrug War PRESIDENT Duterte yesterday threatened to pull the Philippines out of the United Nations as he launched another profanity-laced tirade against the world body for criticizing his ruthless war on drugs. More than 1,500 people have been killed since Mr. Duterte took office on June 30 and immediately launched a take-noprisoners crackdown on illegal drugs, drawing fierce criticism from the United Nations and human rights groups. A lawyer notorious for an acid tongue, Mr. Duterte has repeatedly told the United Nations not to interfere, calling the world body "stupid" for its criticisms. [continues 964 words]
President Threatens to Declare Martial Law PRESIDENT Duterte yesterday sharply rebuked Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno for cautioning judges not to heed his orders to report to police to explain their alleged involvement in illegal drugs and raised the possibility of declaring martial law in the event of a constitutional crisis between the two coequal branches of government. Sereno had warned in a letter to Duterte on Monday that "it would matter greatly to our sense of constitutional order" if the Supreme Court would be given the chance to discipline members of the judiciary as mandated by law. [continues 732 words]
THE PHILIPPINES may be heading toward another collision course with China-possibly over President Duterte's war on drugs. Barely a week after the Philippines won a favorable ruling from an international court in its maritime claims over the West Philippine Sea, Mr. Duterte over the weekend said he would confront the Chinese government regarding the country's problem on illegal drugs. "One day, I will ask China: Why is the situation like this? I won't say why are you sending them, but why is it that most of the guys who come here do drugs, even inside jail?" the President said in a private gathering in Malacanang on Sunday night. [continues 320 words]
Other Suspects Urged to Prove They're Clean WHY did the "Punisher" let alleged drug Triad boss Peter Lim live another day? The Palace could not give the exact reason, but Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar yesterday sought to assure the public that there was no double standard in the government's war against illegal drugs. Lim, a wealthy businessman from Cebu, met with President Duterte in Davao City on Friday night as bodies of poor drug suspects continued to turn up in various parts of the country. [continues 687 words]
MANILA, Philippines - In line with efforts to address the problem of illegal drugs, Philippine National Police Director General Jesus Verzosa Wednesday said he has ordered his men to conduct random drug tests on clients of bars and similar establishments in Metro Manila. "As part of the antidrug campaign, we want to deploy [antidrug] agents to business establishments, especially high-end bars, and invite those who [seem to be] under the influence of illegal drugs to be immediately subjected to a drug test," he told reporters. [continues 543 words]
CAMP VICENTE LIM, Laguna-A five-year-old girl was accidentally killed in an anti-illegal drugs operation in Dasmarinas, Cavite on Wednesday, police said yesterday. Senior Supt. Aaron Fidel, intelligence chief of the Calabarzon police, identified the victim as Janissa Bagul, a resident of Barangay H2, Dasmarinas town. Fidel said police launched a drug buy-bust operation in Barangay H2, in Cavite, to arrest members of a drug syndicate. He said two undercover policemen were able to buy 91 grams of suspected shabu from suspects Mike Tale and Pepito Soriano in a slum area in Barangay H2. [continues 69 words]
Two unidentified gunmen shot dead a middle-aged woman who was listed as the No. 4 most wanted drug dealer in Batangas province. Mary Jane Endozo, 33, a resident of Barangay 4 in Tanauan City, was shot as she emerged from a court hearing in the town, police said yesterday. Senior Supt. Francisco Montenegro, Batangas police chief, said Endozo, 33, had just attended a hearing at around 10:30 a.m. at the Tanauan City's Hall of Justice in Barangay Dos when two assailants on board a motorcycle opened fire at her. [continues 125 words]
