MANILA The Philippines' police chief on Friday stood by anti-narcotics officers and rejected a Reuters investigation that pointed to a pattern of police sending corpses of drug suspects to hospitals to destroy crime scene evidence and hide executions.
President Rodrigo Duterte took office in the Philippines a year ago, launching a bloody war on drugs that has killed thousands of Filipinos.
PREVIOUSLY FROM REUTERS INVESTIGATES:
Philippine police use hospitals to hide drug war killings
Podcast: Dead on arrival in Duterte's drug war
In a television interview to mark the anniversary, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Ronald dela Rosa appeared irritated by questions about the Reuters report, published on Thursday, and said police carrying out anti-drugs operations had a duty to save lives, even when encountering violent resistance.
He said police were not medically qualified to determine whether a victim was dead or alive and sent victims to hospital as part of operational procedure.
"What do you want, we let the wounded die? You don't want us to rescue his life?" he told news channel ANC.
The Reuters investigation analyzed crime data from two of Metro Manila's five police districts and included accounts of doctors, witnesses, law enforcement officials and victims' families. [nL8N1JQ2NQ]
It showed a pattern of police sending dead bodies to hospitals, preventing thorough crime scene investigations from taking place after the killing of drug suspects. [nL8N1JQ2NQ]
Dela Rosa said Reuters, which has produced a series of in-depth reports into the war on drugs that have questioned official accounts, was "looking for faults" in the police.
"PNP is damned if you do, damned if you don't. Reuters really is looking for faults in us. We have to stand by our police operational procedure that in case of an encounter, if a person is not yet declared dead by the physician, you need to bring him to the hospital."
He added: "Who are the policemen to say they are dead? They are not medical practitioners. If we did not bring them to the hospitals, the relatives might sue us."
A spokeswoman for Reuters said the news agency stood by its reporting.
Duterte's bloody campaign has been condemned by human rights groups and alarmed Western countries due to the high death toll and allegations of systematic extrajudicial killings and cover-ups by police. The PNP rejects those allegations.
FEW SURVIVORS
Reuters looked at police reports covering the first eight months of the drug war, which showed that in Quezon City Police District and neighboring Manila Police District, 301 victims were sent to hospital after police anti-drug operations. Only two survived and the rest were dead on arrival.
In nearly all cases where drug suspects have died during police operations in the year-long crackdown, the official accounts say police fired in self defense. Police say they do not shoot to kill.
Activists, however, say the circumstances behind many of the killings in police sting operations point to executions. A Reuters investigation last year found that when police opened fire in anti-drug operations, they killed 97 percent of people they shot.
The data analyzed in the latest Reuters investigation shows a sharp increase in the number of drug suspects declared dead on arrival in the Quezon City and Manila districts each month.
There were 10 cases when the drug war started a year ago in July 2016, or 13 percent of police drug shooting deaths. By January 2017, the tally rose to 51 cases, or 85 percent, at a time when criticism of Duterte's campaign intensified.
A police commander who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said the increase was no coincidence and police were
trying to prevent crime scene investigations and media attention that might show they were executing suspects.
Human rights groups say the anti-drugs crackdown, the signature policy of the populist Duterte, has been disastrous and has almost entirely targeted the poor, with most of those killed or arrested drug users and small-time dealers, with narcotics kingpins largely untouched.
Dela Rosa said police should not be disparaged for trying to save victims and the removal of bodies from a crime scene did not mean a proper investigation could not be carried out.
"Do not put malice in what the police does," he said. "The
crime scene is there even without the dead body."
(Reporting by Martin Petty and Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Alex Richardson)
WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump will speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday, calls that come as frustration builds in the White House over North Korea's nuclear program and overcapacity in the steel market.
BERLIN With an eye on anti-globalization protests brewing in Hamburg before this week's G20 summit, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday leaders will have to focus on sustainable and inclusive economic growth rather than their own prosperity.
Read the original:
Philippine top cop says police try to save lives of drugs war victims - Reuters
- The dark legacy of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines - WBUR News - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Step up war on drugs and illicit liquors - Nation - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Forum From the Archives: Brutality of Philippines War on Drugs Laid Bare in Some People Need Killing - KQED - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Commentary: We need to rethink how we address drug use - Maryland Matters - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Liberia: Boakai's War on Drugs Gains Momentum - Liberian Daily Observer - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Tactics are shifting in the war on drugs - Financial Times - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- End overreliance on punitive measures to address drugs problem ... - OHCHR - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- HSCSO making a dent in the local war on drugs - Malvern Daily Record - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- The Drug War on the Border Doesn't Work - Progressive.org - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- 'When I walk to school, I can see people shooting up.' How Seattle's ... - KUOW News and Information - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- The best gifts ever? Being named after drugs and declaring war on ... - POLITICO Europe - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- Latin America This Week: September 20, 2023 - Council on Foreign Relations - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- The drug trade is taking over Latin America - PRESSENZA International News Agency - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- Safe Supply Streaming Co. Ltd. Completes Reverse Take-Over ... - The Dales Report - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- Critics claim drug use clemency proposal to reduce overcrowding in ... - asianews.network - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- War on illicit drugs | Police warn of meth production, collusion with ... - Fiji Times - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- From Grief to Action - The Stranger - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- Police in region to discuss war against drugs - Khmer Times - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- Five die in suspected drug turf war in Richards Bay - Durban - IOL - September 23rd, 2023 [September 23rd, 2023]
- Mayor Bruce Harrell Shares His New Pitch for the War on Drugs - The Stranger - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- Illinois Governor Signs Supervised Release Bill To Help Drug War ... - Marijuana Moment - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- Activist: Automatically expunging cannabis convictions is step ... - MPR News - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- What the crack epidemic reveals about America - The Boston Globe - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- 'The war on drugs has failed: Sir Richard Branson tells LBC there ... - LBC - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- An Enemy in Mexico - The New York Times - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- Betrayal on the Bayou, a New Season of Hit Podcast Smoke Screen ... - Sony Music - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- Worldwide Wednesday's International Roundup: Bangladesh, China ... - Death Penalty Information Center - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- 46 Bacolod local government workers test positive for drug use - Rappler - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- Jon Bernthal's 12 Best Movies, Ranked by Rotten Tomatoes - MovieWeb - August 2nd, 2023 [August 2nd, 2023]
- We Are Continuing the War on Drugs - The Stranger - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Clemency Is One Answer to the War On Drugs | American Civil ... - ACLU - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- As Evidence Mounts That 'War On Drugs' Has Failed, Harm ... - Health Policy Watch - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Families of victims await justice as the ICC reopens Philippines drug ... - NPR - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Why Trump and other Republicans want to go to war in Mexico - Vox.com - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- New Queensland drug laws will keep thousands of people out of justice system, advocates say - ABC News - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Ben Cohen's Cannabis Company Tries to Undo the Harm of the War ... - Seven Days - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Pt. 2: The war on cannabis - Cabrini College Loquitur - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Globe editorial: The tide is turning, but the war on drug overdoses is ... - The Globe and Mail - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Eric Clapton Bringing Crossroads Guitar Festival to L.A., With 41 Guests Ranging From Buddy Guy to the War on Drugs - Variety - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Evaluation of all PNP senior officers has significant impact on war on ... - Manila Bulletin - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- War on Drugs Poster Campaign launched at Pangei bazaar - Pothashang - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Mary Jane, MJ, Weed, Oh my! - The Post - The Post - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Opinion: In defence of drug dealers' humanity - The Globe and Mail - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- DECRIMINALIZE MARIJUANA: Incarceration for marijuana needs to ... - The Daily Orange - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Today in History: April 23, Hank Aaron's first home run - Sent-trib - Sentinel-Tribune - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- GUEST COLUMN: Legislation would have helped war on opioids - Colorado Springs Gazette - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Positioned to succeed: Organization offers educational program for ... - Youngstown Vindicator - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Miniature organs driving precision medicine and new drug discovery - University of Arizona - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- 18 concerts to see this week, including Father John Misty, Nickel ... - The Key @ XPN - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- 'They are not helping PRRD' | Philstar.com - Philstar.com - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Brandon Ali: By 18 he had a shotgun. At 19 he was smuggling drugs. Age 20 he had murdered a man - Teesside Live - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- Kindiki team shores up gains in drugs, illicit brews fight - The Star Kenya - April 23rd, 2023 [April 23rd, 2023]
- The US Has Spent $1 Trillion Fighting The War On Drugs A Failure, Say The Authors Of New Cannabis Book - Forbes - April 17th, 2023 [April 17th, 2023]
- Gov. Kathy Hochuls cannabis crime bill will destroy lives and restart the War on Drugs (guest column) - newyorkupstate.com - March 31st, 2023 [March 31st, 2023]
- Official says war on drugs is 'here, local' following discovery of 10K fentanyl-laced ecstasy pills in Silsbee - 12newsnow.com KBMT-KJAC - March 26th, 2023 [March 26th, 2023]
- The War on Drugs: History, Policy, and Therapeutics - Dominican University - March 11th, 2023 [March 11th, 2023]
- The War on Drugs - Crime Museum - March 11th, 2023 [March 11th, 2023]
- What Is the War on Drugs? - WorldAtlas - March 11th, 2023 [March 11th, 2023]
- 9 Important Pros and Cons of the War on Drugs ConnectUS - March 11th, 2023 [March 11th, 2023]
- The War on Drugs and Mass Incarceration - A Brief History of Civil ... - March 11th, 2023 [March 11th, 2023]
- The Former Mexican Official Who Oversaw His Nation's War on Drugs Went on Trial in the ... - Latest Tweet - LatestLY - January 25th, 2023 [January 25th, 2023]
- Women and the Drug War | Drug Policy Alliance - January 6th, 2023 [January 6th, 2023]
- The War on Drugs as Structural Racism - Penn LDI - January 6th, 2023 [January 6th, 2023]
- The Phony War on Drugs - The New York Times - January 6th, 2023 [January 6th, 2023]
- Biden pot pardon to help with War on Drugs' harms to Black people : NPR - December 21st, 2022 [December 21st, 2022]
- War on Ivermectin: The Medicine that Saved Millions and Could Have ... - November 23rd, 2022 [November 23rd, 2022]
- IN NUMBERS: The Philippines' 'war on drugs' - RAPPLER - November 23rd, 2022 [November 23rd, 2022]
- Race, Mass Incarceration, and the Disastrous War on Drugs - October 30th, 2022 [October 30th, 2022]
- The Irrational War on Drugs - consortiumnews.com - October 30th, 2022 [October 30th, 2022]
- Race and the Drug War | Drug Policy Alliance - October 30th, 2022 [October 30th, 2022]
- Sound Summit 2022: a guide to the Bay Areas highest music festival - SF Chronicle Datebook - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Here's how health and wellness will show up on Denver's November ballot - Denverite - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- 10 Monday AM Reads - The Big Picture - Barry Ritholtz - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Colombian president Gustavo Petro calls for an end to the War on Drugs ... - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- The U.S. has spent over a trillion dollars fighting war on drugs - CNBC - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- From wounded Latin America, a demand comes to put an end to the ... - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- The War On Drugs, 'Oceans Of Darkness' - WNCW - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- How the War on Drugs failed Democracy and society - IPS Journal - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- This Day in History, October 14th, 2022 War on Drugs - Signals AZ - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- Best Phoenix Concerts This Week: The Black Keys, Karol G, The War on Drugs - Phoenix New Times - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]