Paul Keenan
A Catholic bishop in the Philippines has led calls for the nation’s elected representatives to uncover the truth about the surge in killings of suspected drug dealers and addicts.
As senators convene a congressional inquiry into killings which have risen in line with the tough stance adopted by President Rodrigo Duterte since his election on May 9, Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo of Manila urged the legislators “not to be cowed” and to deliver the truth behind the killings, many carried out by vigilantes.
Bishop Pabillo reminded ordinary Filipinos that their cooperation with the inquiry was vital if it was to uncover the truth.
“We ask that all cooperate with the Senate inquiry. Let fear not prevent people from cooperating,” the bishop said during an interview on the current situation.
Amid strong words against drugs and even direct calls for the elimination of dealers and addicts from President Duterte, some 1,500 people have been summarily executed on the streets of the Philippines in recent months. Bodies are frequently found tied up and bearing cardboard signs alleging drugs links.
Establishment
While many hard-pressed citizens fully back such action, the pace of killings has seen the establishment of a human rights group, In Defence of Human Rights and Dignity (iDefend), dedicated to bringing an end to the slaughter.
“We can’t allow the abnormal situation to become normal,” iDefend has insisted.
Even the United Nations has expressed concern at the murders as well as the elimination tactics now apparently being applied by police in dealing with drugs suspects, all of whom are routinely accused of resisting arrest when shot dead. An undaunted Mr Duterte rejected the UN’s words and threatened to pull his country out of the international body.
“The government should hunt down these killers who are inspired by the government itself to put the law in their own hands,” Bishop Pabillo said of the vigilantes.
“This culture of killing must be stopped by the government that has the obligation to provide equal protection under the law to everyone, guilty or not guilty of a crime.”