The head of the Catholic Church in the Philippines has harshly criticized a government campaign of alleged extrajudicial killings of drug suspects that has claimed thousands of lives, calling it a "humanitarian concern" that cannot be ignored.

Police have killed an estimated 3,200 people in the past 14 months in encounters they claim involved suspects who put up armed resistance. Another 2,000 have died in drug-related killings – in many cases carried out by motorcycle-riding masked gunmen who human rights groups say are either police in disguise or their hired hit men. In a single day last week, police in the Philippines killed a record 32 people in drug raids, according to Reuters.

"We knock on the consciences of those who kill even the helpless, especially those who cover their faces, to stop wasting human lives," Manila Cardinal Luis Tagle said. "The illegal drug problem should not be reduced to a political or criminal issue. It is a humanitarian concern that affects all of us."

Tagle was supported by Archbishop Socrates Villegas, who said Sunday that church bells would ring every night for the next three months to spark greater awareness of President Rodrigo Duterte's crackdown.

"The sounding of the bells is a call to stop approval of the killings," Villegas said in a statement read Sunday in churches in his district in Pangasinan province, according to The Associated Press. "The country is in chaos. The officer who kills is rewarded and the slain get the blame. The corpses could no longer defend themselves from accusations that they 'fought back.'"

The Church was initially silent about the anti-drug campaign, but has in recent months stepped up calls for its end.

Duterte's campaign, which has drawn international criticism, has gotten high marks from President Trump, who in a leaked transcript of a phone call praised the Philippine leader for an "unbelievable job on the drug problem."

Duterte has compared his crackdown in the Philippines to the Holocaust, saying he'd like to deal with drug addicts the way that Nazi Germany dealt with the Jews.</s>IF there is one death from the drug war waged by President Duterte that may just redraw the narrative, it will be that of Kian delos Santos, dead at the age of 17.

Even some of the most diehard loyalists of the President have expressed their horror and misgivings.

It is not even material if he was indeed in possession of shabu, or that he is in fact a peddler of illegal drugs. What is material is the fact that there are just too many questions about the circumstances surrounding his death.

His death, or at least the events that preceded it, was caught on tape. And the images were indeed unsettling. The image of two men on both sides, practically dragging what looked like Kian, and another one following, in the direction of an alley where at the end of it his body was found minutes after, lying in a pool of blood.

Legal minds will of course argue that the images do not convince beyond reasonable doubt, for one has to establish whether indeed that boy in the video was Kian. It also does not show what exactly transpired in the alley.

But three armed policemen versus a 17-year-old already in their custody is very much in the same league of one who is already arrested and in handcuffs but who still manages to grab a gun. They both raise reasonable doubt.

And it looks like reasonable doubt is now forming even in the minds of those who support the Duterte government.

After all, even the President himself has admitted that his drug war has not done as much as he promised. He underestimated the magnitude and extent of the drug problem, even as he over-estimated the capacity of government agents to quell it.

It is logical to speculate that one way to address this problem is by simply intensifying the killing. And there is good reason to suppose that this is a direction that is now being taken, as seen in the magnitude of drug-related arrests and killings that happened recently in Bulacan and in Metro Manila.

It is in this context, perhaps, that Kian is dead at 17.

Indeed, the natural course of action to address a lag in performance is to double the pace. But this is not just about planting trees or servicing indigent families, for which one can simply work extra hours to meet, if not exceed targets. We are talking about human lives here.

Kian may be a drug peddler, a courier as reports have alleged, but this was for the law to establish, and not for some eager-beaver police operative rushing to show results to decide with finality and inflict the irreversible penalty of death on someone who is just 17.

There is no problem when those who are killed are criminals who shoot it out with the police, for which rules of engagement would warrant a takedown. But doubling the pace when lives are involved can also drive people eager to show results to cut corners and take quick fixes, and then be comforted by the thought that they would be like that other Marcos in Albuera, Leyte, who is even facing a possible promotion despite being found with probable cause to have the crime of drug-related homicide.

The death of Kian will have to make us think beyond the rage that we feel when at the other side of the narrative we have those drug-crazed addicts raping and killing seven-year old girls and pregnant women. After all, even as the Commission on Human Rights does not see these as part of their terms of reference, the law-enforcement agencies and the courts already take jurisdiction over these criminals, where they are brought to justice.

But justice is not to be confused with vengeance, that we can even tolerate the death of innocent lives as collateral damage, or totally ignore the law and rules of engagement.

Faced with an unfulfilled promise to eliminate the drug problem in six months, the President must now recalibrate his drug war.

The key is to go beyond the point of consumption and the petty distribution channels, and begin giving more attention to the supply side, the bigtime sources and the major players. The President should choke the points of entry, and the major points of distribution. The audacity of the attempt to smuggle billions worth of shabu into the country is but an indication that the problem exists because the drug flow continues to run the course. And here, what will eventually be revealed is that the key players are not people like Kian but the narco-politicians and the rogue agents of law enforcement that nurture the drug trade not for subsistence like the petty pushers and dealers in dark alleys, but for capital accumulation and the seeking and maintenance of political power.

This would include looking into the angle being peddled by some fertile minds that Kian’s death was allegedly a move by narco-politicians to smear the President and divert attention away from controversial issues threatening their political interests.

The President has been brandishing a list of bigtime drug lords and narco-politicians, which in all certainty will not include the name of a Kian delos Santos, now dead at 17.

It is about time authorities focus on them, but always in the ambit of the law and the rules of proper engagement.

If we violate the law to uphold it, we are not in any way making the law rule over us. We do not solve crime by violating the law to kill criminals. We in fact just add one more crime to the statistics.

So Mr. President, shall we begin?</s>The head of the Catholic Church in the Philippines has harshly criticized a government campaign of alleged extrajudicial killings of drug suspects that has claimed thousands of lives, calling it a "humanitarian concern" that cannot be ignored.

Police have killed an estimated 3,200 people in the past 14 months in encounters they claim involved suspects who put up armed resistance. Another 2,000 have died in drug-related killings – in many cases carried out by motorcycle-riding masked gunmen who human rights groups say are either police in disguise or their hired hit men. In a single day last week, police in the Philippines killed a record 32 people in drug raids, according to Reuters.

"We knock on the consciences of those who kill even the helpless, especially those who cover their faces, to stop wasting human lives," Manila Cardinal Luis Tagle said. "The illegal drug problem should not be reduced to a political or criminal issue. It is a humanitarian concern that affects all of us."

Tagle was supported by Archbishop Socrates Villegas, who said Sunday that church bells would ring every night for the next three months to spark greater awareness of President Rodrigo Duterte's crackdown.

"The sounding of the bells is a call to stop approval of the killings," Villegas said in a statement read Sunday in churches in his district in Pangasinan province, according to The Associated Press. "The country is in chaos. The officer who kills is rewarded and the slain get the blame. The corpses could no longer defend themselves from accusations that they 'fought back.'"

The Church was initially silent about the anti-drug campaign, but has in recent months stepped up calls for its end.

Duterte's campaign, which has drawn international criticism, has gotten high marks from President Trump, who in a leaked transcript of a phone call praised the Philippine leader for an "unbelievable job on the drug problem."

Duterte has compared his crackdown in the Philippines to the Holocaust, saying he'd like to deal with drug addicts the way that Nazi Germany dealt with the Jews.</s>MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Leni Robredo on Sunday, August 20, condemned the killing of Kian Loyd delos Santos, the 17-year-old student shot by police after allegedly fighting back during anti-drug operations in Caloocan City.

If it could happen to Delos Santos, Robredo said it could also happen to anyone, pointing out that he was the same age as her youngest daughter, Jillian.

"Alam mo ito, parang napaka-personal sa akin, kasi ka-edad niya iyong bunso ko. Kaya kapag nangyayari ito sa ganyan, maiisip mo na kung nangyari sa kanya, puwedeng mangyari sa mga anak natin," Robredo said in her weekly radio show on Sunday.

Robredo noted how Delos Santos' family and neighbors have lauded the young man's character. But Caloocan police maintained he was a drug suspect and that they only shot at him for self-defense.

The teenager's mother, Lorenza, works as a domestic helper abroad, while his father, Zaldy, runs a small sari-sari store.

Robredo, who visited Delos Santos' wake early Sunday, said she has offered assistance to his family. During the visit, she was joined by human rights lawyer Jose Manuel Diokno, chairman of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG).

Senator Risa Hontiveros earlier granted protection to some witnesses in the boy's slay and said these people are willing to face the Senate should there be an investigation.

Robredo has called for an "independent" investigation into the incident, saying the CCTV footage and witnesses contradict police claims. Senators have also pushed for an "impartial" probe into the killings after Delos Santos' death.

"[I]yong atin lang ninanais, sana magkaroon naman ng independent na imbestigasyon, kasi lalong — Alam mo iyon? Kapag hindi kampante iyong magulang sa klase ng imbestigasyon, hindi nabibigyan ng parang closure iyong kaso, at baka patuloy na nangyayari iyong ganitong nangyari kay Kian," she said.

Caloocan police claimed that Delos Santos was a drug suspect who, upon seeing them during anti-drug operations, fired his gun toward the direction of the cops.

CCTV video and testimonies by witnesses, however, indicated otherwise. CCTV footage showed policemen dragging Delos Santos, his head covered, to the place where he was eventually shot.

Witnesses also contradicted the police, saying it was the latter who handed Delos Santos a gun and ordered him to pull the trigger and run.

Robredo also reiterated her call for the Duterte administration to rethink its approach against illegal drugs, saying innocent people should not be victimized.

(We agree that illegal drugs is a major problem, but maybe there's a better way to address it, in which human rights are not compromised and innocent people are not killed.) – Rappler.com</s>The head of the Catholic Church in the Philippines has harshly criticized a government campaign of alleged extrajudicial killings of drug suspects that has claimed thousands of lives, calling it a "humanitarian concern" that cannot be ignored.

Police have killed an estimated 3,200 people in the past 14 months in encounters they claim involved suspects who put up armed resistance. Another 2,000 have died in drug-related killings – in many cases carried out by motorcycle-riding masked gunmen who human rights groups say are either police in disguise or their hired hit men. In a single day last week, police in the Philippines killed a record 32 people in drug raids, according to Reuters.

"We knock on the consciences of those who kill even the helpless, especially those who cover their faces, to stop wasting human lives," Manila Cardinal Luis Tagle said. "The illegal drug problem should not be reduced to a political or criminal issue. It is a humanitarian concern that affects all of us."

Tagle was supported by Archbishop Socrates Villegas, who said Sunday that church bells would ring every night for the next three months to spark greater awareness of President Rodrigo Duterte's crackdown.

"The sounding of the bells is a call to stop approval of the killings," Villegas said in a statement read Sunday in churches in his district in Pangasinan province, according to The Associated Press. "The country is in chaos. The officer who kills is rewarded and the slain get the blame. The corpses could no longer defend themselves from accusations that they 'fought back.'"

The Church was initially silent about the anti-drug campaign, but has in recent months stepped up calls for its end.

Duterte's campaign, which has drawn international criticism, has gotten high marks from President Trump, who in a leaked transcript of a phone call praised the Philippine leader for an "unbelievable job on the drug problem."

Duterte has compared his crackdown in the Philippines to the Holocaust, saying he'd like to deal with drug addicts the way that Nazi Germany dealt with the Jews.</s>The head of the Catholic Church in the Philippines has harshly criticized a government campaign of alleged extrajudicial killings of drug suspects that has claimed thousands of lives, calling it a "humanitarian concern" that cannot be ignored.

Police have killed an estimated 3,200 people in the past 14 months in encounters they claim involved suspects who put up armed resistance. Another 2,000 have died in drug-related killings – in many cases carried out by motorcycle-riding masked gunmen who human rights groups say are either police in disguise or their hired hit men. In a single day last week, police in the Philippines killed a record 32 people in drug raids, according to Reuters.

"We knock on the consciences of those who kill even the helpless, especially those who cover their faces, to stop wasting human lives," Manila Cardinal Luis Tagle said. "The illegal drug problem should not be reduced to a political or criminal issue. It is a humanitarian concern that affects all of us."

Tagle was supported by Archbishop Socrates Villegas, who said Sunday that church bells would ring every night for the next three months to spark greater awareness of President Rodrigo Duterte's crackdown.

"The sounding of the bells is a call to stop approval of the killings," Villegas said in a statement read Sunday in churches in his district in Pangasinan province, according to The Associated Press. "The country is in chaos. The officer who kills is rewarded and the slain get the blame. The corpses could no longer defend themselves from accusations that they 'fought back.'"

The Church was initially silent about the anti-drug campaign, but has in recent months stepped up calls for its end.

Duterte's campaign, which has drawn international criticism, has gotten high marks from President Trump, who in a leaked transcript of a phone call praised the Philippine leader for an "unbelievable job on the drug problem."

Duterte has compared his crackdown in the Philippines to the Holocaust, saying he'd like to deal with drug addicts the way that Nazi Germany dealt with the Jews.</s>The head of the Catholic Church in the Philippines has harshly criticized a government campaign of alleged extrajudicial killings of drug suspects that has claimed thousands of lives, calling it a "humanitarian concern" that cannot be ignored.

Police have killed an estimated 3,200 people in the past 14 months in encounters they claim involved suspects who put up armed resistance. Another 2,000 have died in drug-related killings – in many cases carried out by motorcycle-riding masked gunmen who human rights groups say are either police in disguise or their hired hit men. In a single day last week, police in the Philippines killed a record 32 people in drug raids, according to Reuters.

"We knock on the consciences of those who kill even the helpless, especially those who cover their faces, to stop wasting human lives," Manila Cardinal Luis Tagle said. "The illegal drug problem should not be reduced to a political or criminal issue. It is a humanitarian concern that affects all of us."

Tagle was supported by Archbishop Socrates Villegas, who said Sunday that church bells would ring every night for the next three months to spark greater awareness of President Rodrigo Duterte's crackdown.

"The sounding of the bells is a call to stop approval of the killings," Villegas said in a statement read Sunday in churches in his district in Pangasinan province, according to The Associated Press. "The country is in chaos. The officer who kills is rewarded and the slain get the blame. The corpses could no longer defend themselves from accusations that they 'fought back.'"

The Church was initially silent about the anti-drug campaign, but has in recent months stepped up calls for its end.

Duterte's campaign, which has drawn international criticism, has gotten high marks from President Trump, who in a leaked transcript of a phone call praised the Philippine leader for an "unbelievable job on the drug problem."

Duterte has compared his crackdown in the Philippines to the Holocaust, saying he'd like to deal with drug addicts the way that Nazi Germany dealt with the Jews.</s>The head of the Catholic Church in the Philippines has harshly criticized a government campaign of alleged extrajudicial killings of drug suspects that has claimed thousands of lives, calling it a "humanitarian concern" that cannot be ignored.

Police have killed an estimated 3,200 people in the past 14 months in encounters they claim involved suspects who put up armed resistance. Another 2,000 have died in drug-related killings – in many cases carried out by motorcycle-riding masked gunmen who human rights groups say are either police in disguise or their hired hit men. In a single day last week, police in the Philippines killed a record 32 people in drug raids, according to Reuters.

"We knock on the consciences of those who kill even the helpless, especially those who cover their faces, to stop wasting human lives," Manila Cardinal Luis Tagle said. "The illegal drug problem should not be reduced to a political or criminal issue. It is a humanitarian concern that affects all of us."

Tagle was supported by Archbishop Socrates Villegas, who said Sunday that church bells would ring every night for the next three months to spark greater awareness of President Rodrigo Duterte's crackdown.

"The sounding of the bells is a call to stop approval of the killings," Villegas said in a statement read Sunday in churches in his district in Pangasinan province, according to The Associated Press. "The country is in chaos. The officer who kills is rewarded and the slain get the blame. The corpses could no longer defend themselves from accusations that they 'fought back.'"

The Church was initially silent about the anti-drug campaign, but has in recent months stepped up calls for its end.

Duterte's campaign, which has drawn international criticism, has gotten high marks from President Trump, who in a leaked transcript of a phone call praised the Philippine leader for an "unbelievable job on the drug problem."

Duterte has compared his crackdown in the Philippines to the Holocaust, saying he'd like to deal with drug addicts the way that Nazi Germany dealt with the Jews.</s>The head of the Catholic Church in the Philippines has harshly criticized a government campaign of alleged extrajudicial killings of drug suspects that has claimed thousands of lives, calling it a "humanitarian concern" that cannot be ignored.

Police have killed an estimated 3,200 people in the past 14 months in encounters they claim involved suspects who put up armed resistance. Another 2,000 have died in drug-related killings – in many cases carried out by motorcycle-riding masked gunmen who human rights groups say are either police in disguise or their hired hit men. In a single day last week, police in the Philippines killed a record 32 people in drug raids, according to Reuters.

"We knock on the consciences of those who kill even the helpless, especially those who cover their faces, to stop wasting human lives," Manila Cardinal Luis Tagle said. "The illegal drug problem should not be reduced to a political or criminal issue. It is a humanitarian concern that affects all of us."

Tagle was supported by Archbishop Socrates Villegas, who said Sunday that church bells would ring every night for the next three months to spark greater awareness of President Rodrigo Duterte's crackdown.

"The sounding of the bells is a call to stop approval of the killings," Villegas said in a statement read Sunday in churches in his district in Pangasinan province, according to The Associated Press. "The country is in chaos. The officer who kills is rewarded and the slain get the blame. The corpses could no longer defend themselves from accusations that they 'fought back.'"

The Church was initially silent about the anti-drug campaign, but has in recent months stepped up calls for its end.

Duterte's campaign, which has drawn international criticism, has gotten high marks from President Trump, who in a leaked transcript of a phone call praised the Philippine leader for an "unbelievable job on the drug problem."

Duterte has compared his crackdown in the Philippines to the Holocaust, saying he'd like to deal with drug addicts the way that Nazi Germany dealt with the Jews.</s>MANILA, Philippines — A Philippine Catholic leader said Sunday that church bells would be rung every night for three months across his northern district to raise alarm over a sharp spike in police killings of drug suspects, adding to a growing outcry over President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody crackdown.

Archbishop Socrates Villegas said church bells would toll for 15 minutes nightly across his religious district from Tuesday to Nov. 27 to rouse a citizenry “which has become a coward in expressing anger against evil.” The start and end of the protest mark days of Catholic veneration.

The move comes after more than 80 drug and crime suspects were gunned down by police in metropolitan Manila and nearby Bulacan province in just three days last week, the bloodiest few days since Duterte’s crackdown started in July last year.

“The sounding of the bells is a call to stop approval of the killings,” Villegas, who also heads an influential bloc of Filipino Catholic bishops, said in a statement read Sunday in churches in his district in Pangasinan province. “The country is in chaos. The officer who kills is rewarded and the slain get the blame. The corpses could no longer defend themselves from accusations that they ‘fought back.'”

“Why are we no longer horrified by the sound of the gun and blood flowing on the sidewalks? Why is nobody raging against drugs that were brought in from China?” Villegas asked, referring to a huge drugs shipment that managed to pass through Manila’s ports under the watch of Customs officials appointed by Duterte.

Without naming the president, Villegas criticized Duterte’s praises for police killings of 32 drug suspects in just a night of raids across Bulacan province last week and how his supporters applauded in response.

In a separate statement read in Manila churches, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle offered to host a dialogue on the drug problem among government and police officials, along with families of victims, nongovernment groups and medical experts.

Anger and protests have focused on last week’s shooting death of a teenager, Kian Lloyd delos Santos, who police say was a drug dealer who opened fire with a pistol during a raid, prompting law enforcers to shoot him. The family of the slain 17-year-old student, however, says he was mercilessly shot by police as he was pleading for his life.

Police said the student attempted to escape during a raid that sparked a chase Wednesday night in suburban Caloocan city in Manila metropolis. The student’s grieving parents and some neighbors denied the police claim, pointing to security camera footage that showed a man, who they said was delos Santos, being held by both arms and dragged away from his home shortly before he was shot nearby.

Vice President Leni Robredo condemned the killing and visited the wake of the slain student early Sunday accompanied by a volunteer lawyer, who she said may be able to help the victim’s family attain justice. She acknowledged that the country has a big drug problem, but said the solution should not trample on human rights and victimize the innocent.

Amid the outcry, police officials removed three police officers involved in the killing of delos Santos, along with their commander, and ordered an investigation.

Senators allied with Duterte were to hold a meeting Sunday to discuss a possible investigation of the killings of delos Santos and dozens of other people last week. Two of them spoke in radio interviews, warning policemen not to abuse Duterte’s strong backing of law enforcers involved in his campaign against illegal drugs.

“Legitimate police operations are OK, but summary executions have no place in our society because they’re barbaric acts,” Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito told DZBB Radio. “They should not go overboard.”

More than 3,200 drug suspects have been gunned down by police since Duterte launched his crackdown. More than 2,000 others have died in drug-related killings, including attacks by motorcycle-riding masked gunmen, who human rights groups allege are policemen in disguise or their civilian hit men.

Duterte has acknowledged he erred in his initial estimate — and campaign promise — to end the drug menace in three to six months and added that it would be difficult to have the problem under control during his six-year term. The crackdown, however, will not stop under his watch, he said.
After the shooting of Kian Loyd delos Santos, a 17-year-old student, in the campaign against drugs in the Philippines, thousands of marchers protest in EDSA heeding calls from the Philippine Catholic Church to criticize the drug war.