58 dead in 3 days in renewed Philippine anti-drug bloodshed
17 Aug 2017 5:02 PM GMT
MANILA: Philippine police killed at least 26 more drug suspects in overnight gunbattles in the capital, bringing to 58 the death toll in a renewed bloody crackdown in the last three days that received praises from the president.
President Rodrigo Duterteexpressed his satisfaction with the new spike in drug killings and reassured law enforcers on Thursday they will not rot in jail if they get entangled in lawsuits.
"If the police and the military get into trouble in connection with the performance of duty, you can expect, I really won't agree for you to be jailed," Duterte said to applause from police officers.
While he acknowledged it may be tough for him to bring the drug menace under control during the rest of his six-year term, Duterte said the deadly crackdown would continue without letup. He announced rewards of 2 million pesos ($40,000) for each drug-linked police officer who would be killed.
"You policemen who are into drugs ... the bounty I'm offering for your head is 2 million. No questions asked. I will not ask who killed you," Duterte told police officers in southern Ozamiz city. "I want you ... dead."
Twenty-six drug suspects were killed and more than 70 others arrested across the congested city in overnight police assaults, said Manila police Chief Superintendent Joel Napoleon Coronel. More than 70 others were arrested in the raids.
The deaths followed the killings of 32 suspects in separate police anti-drug raids Tuesday in Bulacan province north of Manila.
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