Tag Archives: Philippines

Philippines’ defense minister says military can cope without U.S. aid

U.S. military forces cross a flooded area near the shore during the annual Philippines-US amphibious landing exercise (PHIBLEX) at San Antonio, Zambales province, Philippines

MANILA (Reuters) – U.S.-Philippines ties are going through “bumps on the road” and the Philippine military could manage if treaty ally the United States were to withdraw aid, the defense minister said on Friday.

The Philippines intended to buy arms from China and Russia and there had been no adverse reaction from within the military to President Rodrigo Duterte’s vows to scale back defense ties with the United States, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said.

Lorenzana’s remarks suggested he was following other top officials in Duterte’s administration in rallying behind the maverick president’s tough anti-U.S. agenda after weeks of scrambling to manage the fallout from his outbursts and threats to downgrade the alliance.

Lorenzana had on Wednesday set a conciliatory tone, saying Duterte may have been misinformed when he said U.S.-Philippine military exercises were no benefit to his country.

But on Friday Lorenzana said the value of U.S. military aid to the Philippines was “not that much”, and the military could ask Congress to make up for a shortfall of some $50 million-$100 million a year in U.S. military aid.

“We can live without (that),” Lorenzana told a foreign correspondents’ forum.

Duterte, well known for a ruthless stand against crime from his years as mayor of a southern city, won election in May on a promise to wipe out drugs and drug dealers.

Some 3,600 people have been killed in his anti-drugs drive and he has been enraged by questions about human rights, from the United States and others, that the bloodshed has raised.

Duterte said on Thursday if the United States and European Union objected to his drugs war and wished to withdraw aid, they should do so, and the Philippines would not beg.

U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby responded to that saying total U.S. assistance to the Philippines in the fiscal year that began on Oct. 1 was $180 million “and we’re committed” to delivering that.

‘NOT TOO DEPENDENT’

Lorenzana said he believed Duterte’s objective was to diversify Philippines’ foreign ties and cut dependency on former colonial ruler the United States.

“The president is trying to develop a relationship with the U.S. that is not too dependent on one country,” he said.

Duterte has caused a diplomatic storm by declaring that joint U.S.-Philippines military exercises would cease, a defense agreement would be reviewed and, at an undisclosed time, he might “break up” with the United States.

On Monday, Duterte said U.S. President Barack Obama should “go to hell”.

Lorenzana said there had been no official directive to scrap a two-year-old Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. He said the uncertainty in the U.S.-Philippines relationship was “just going through these bumps on the road”.

“Maybe we should re-assess (the relationship),” he said. “Are we benefiting, are we getting what we should be getting from alliance? It is part of this growing up.”

He said Duterte was sensitive to concerns about his drugs war and it was likely the president would dial down his rhetoric if questions from the West about human rights stopped.

Asked how changes in the security relationship could impact a strategic U.S. “rebalance” to Asia, he said: “They are not lacking of any place to park their ships if they are no longer allowed to park their ships here.”

He said there may be some issues of compatibility with defense procurements from Russia and China, which were willing to sell to the Philippines.

A Philippine dispute with China over sovereignty in the South China Sea would not impede defense procurements, he said, adding there had been no discussion of the two countries working together militarily.

“All we are thinking now is buying equipment,” he said. “No talks yet about military alliance. Just simple transaction of buying equipment.”

Lorenzana’s show of accord with Duterte’s anti-U.S. stand follows a similar tough line from Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay who said this week Duterte wanted to liberate the country from a “shackling dependency” on the United States.

Yasay said the president was “compelled to realign” Philippine foreign policy and not submit to U.S. demands and interests.

(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Philippine defense chief says Duterte may be ‘misinformed’ on U.S. alliance

Philippine President Duterte

MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippine defense minister sought to patch up cracks in a military alliance with the United States on Wednesday, saying President Rodrigo Duterte, who has appeared intent on scrapping joint programs, might be misinformed about their value.

Referring to recent strongly worded comments by Duterte, in which he has declared that the Philippines military gained little from U.S. security ties, Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the armed forces were still weak and the country got a lot out of the U.S. relationship.

“That’s why I said the president was misinformed, because I think the information he is getting is incomplete,” Lorenzana told reporters, a day after the launch of the latest round of PHIBLEX military exercises involving troops from both sides.

“Maybe, the defense ministry and the armed forces were remiss in providing him the correct information. This, we will address in the coming days.”

The United States has been on the receiving end of a torrent of hostility from Duterte, who was angered by U.S. expressions of concern over his war on drugs.

On Tuesday, Duterte said U.S. President Barack Obama should “go to hell” and that in his time, he might “break up” with Washington, with which Manila has had a security treaty since 1951.

Last week, he also caused a stir when he said the PHIBLEX exercises would be “the last one” and on Sunday said a U.S.-Philippines Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement would be reviewed.

That deal includes setting up storage facilities for maritime security, humanitarian and disaster response operations and grants U.S. troops some access to Philippine bases.

Lorenzana said the ongoing exercises gave Philippine troops exposure to new guns, technology and body armor and training in warfare tactics, marksmanship and quick responses to natural disasters.

“According to him, only the American troops are benefiting from those exercises,” he said, referring to his president.

“But based on what we gathered from the GHQ (general headquarters) and army, there are (benefits).”

U.S. officials have played down Duterte’s remarks, focusing instead on the decades-long alliance which they have sought to bolster in recent years in response to China’s moves to enforce its claims over the South China Sea.

The White House said on Tuesday the United States had not received any formal communications from Duterte’s government about changing the relationship.

(Reporting by Martin Petty; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Philippine leader tells Obama he can buy arms from Russia, China

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte clenches fist with members of the Philippine Army during his visit at the army

MANILA (Reuters) – Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday told U.S. President Barack Obama to “go to hell” and said the United States had refused to sell some weapons to his country but he did not care because Russia and China were willing suppliers.

In his latest salvo, Duterte said he was realigning his foreign policy because the United States had failed the Philippines and added that at some point, “I will break up with America”. It was not clear what he meant by “break up”.

During three tangential and fiercely worded speeches in Manila, Duterte said the United States did not want to sell missiles and other weapons, but Russia and China had told him they could provide them easily.

“Although it may sound shit to you, it is my sacred duty to keep the integrity of this republic and the people healthy,” Duterte said.

“If you don’t want to sell arms, I’ll go to Russia. I sent the generals to Russia and Russia said ‘do not worry we have everything you need, we’ll give it to you’.

“And as for China, they said ‘just come over and sign and everything will be delivered’.”

His comments were the latest in a near-daily barrage of hostility toward the United States, during which Duterte has started to contrast the former colonial power with its geopolitical rivals Russia and China.

On Sunday, he said he had got support from Russia and China when he complained to them about the United States. He also said he would review a U.S.-Philippines Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement.

The deal, signed in 2014, grants U.S. troops some access to Philippine bases, and allows them to set up storage facilities for maritime security and humanitarian and disaster response operations.

He said the United States should have supported the Philippines in tackling its chronic drugs problems but instead criticized him for the high death toll, as did the European Union.

‘HELL IS FULL’

“Instead of helping us, the first to hit was the State Department. So you can go to hell, Mr Obama, you can go to hell,” he said.

“EU, better choose purgatory. Hell is full already. Why should I be afraid of you?”

At a later speech he said he was emotional because the United States had not been a friend of the Philippines since his election in May.

“They just … reprimand another president in front of the international community,” he told the Jewish community at a synagogue.

“This is what happens now, I will be reconfiguring my foreign policy. Eventually, I might in my time I will break up with America.”

It was not clear if by his “time”, he was referring to his six-year term in office.

According to some U.S. officials, Washington has been doing its best to ignore Duterte’s rhetoric and not provide him with a pretext for more outbursts.

While an open break with Manila would create problems in a region where China’s influence has grown, there were no serious discussions about taking punitive steps such as cutting aid to the Philippines, two U.S. officials said on Monday.

Several of Duterte’s allies on Monday suggested he act more like a statesman because his comments had created a stir. On Tuesday, he said his outbursts were because he was provoked by criticism of his crackdown on drugs.

“When you are already at the receiving end of an uncontrollable rush, the only way out is to insult,” he said.

“That is my retaliation.”

(Reporting by Martin Petty; Editing by Robert Birsel)

China armed forces warn Japan against South China sea patrols

Chinese and Japanese warships

BEIJING, Sept 29 (Reuters) – Japan is “playing with fire” with plans to step up activity in the contested South China Sea through joint training patrols with the United States, China’s Defence Ministry said on Thursday, warning it would not sit watching from the sidelines.

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea and has repeatedly denounced what it views as interference there by the United States and its ally, Japan.

Japan is strengthening its ties in the region, in particular with the Philippines and Vietnam, which contest China’s claims to parts of the sea, and it aims to help build the capacity of coastal states in the busy waterway, its defence minister said this month during a visit to Washington.

Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun, asked about Japan’s plans, said it had constantly been trying to stir things up in the South China Sea for its own purposes.

“We must solemnly tell Japan this is a miscalculation. If Japan wants to have joint patrols or drills in waters under Chinese jurisdiction this really is playing with fire,” Yang told a monthly news briefing.

“China’s military will not sit idly by,” he added, without elaborating.

Ties between Asia’s two largest economies have long been overshadowed by arguments over their painful wartime history and a territorial spat in the East China Sea, among other issues.

Ships carrying about $5 trillion in trade pass through the South China Sea every year.

Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan also have claims in the sea, which is also believed to be rich in energy resources and fish stocks.

In July, an arbitration court in the Hague said China’s claims to the waterway were invalid, after a case was brought by the Philippines. China has refused to recognise the ruling.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Bullets trump rehab as Asia quickens failing war on drugs

Men inject heroin into their arms along a street in Man Sam, northern Shan state, Myanmar

By Andrew R.C. Marshall and Antoni Slodkowski

BANGKOK/YANGON (Reuters) – The Philippines has launched a bloody “war on drugs” that has killed at least 2,400 people in just two months, while neighboring Indonesia has declared a “narcotics emergency” and resumed executing drug convicts after a long hiatus.

In Thailand and Myanmar, petty drug users are being sentenced to long jail terms in prisons already bursting at the seams.

The soaring popularity of methamphetamine – a cheap and highly addictive drug also known as meth – is driving countries across Asia to adopt hardline anti-narcotics policies. Experts say they are likely to only make things worse.

Geoff Monaghan has seen it all before. He investigated narco-trafficking gangs during his 30-year career as a detective with London’s Metropolitan Police, then witnessed the impact of draconian anti-drug policies as an HIV/AIDS expert in Russia.

“We have plenty of data but often we forget the history,” said Monaghan. “That’s the problem.”

He believes President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drugs campaign in the Philippines will fuel more violence and entrench rather than uproot trafficking networks. “I’m very fearful about the situation,” he said.

Reflecting the regional explosion in use, the amount of meth seized in East and Southeast Asia almost quadrupled from about 11 tons in 2009 to 42 tons in 2013, said the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The only region seizing more meth was North America, where the booming trade inspired the popular television series “Breaking Bad”.

Meth was the “primary drug of concern” in nine Asian countries, the UNODC said, including Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Japan and South Korea.

PLAYING CATCH-UP

A rising chorus of experts blame this surge in production and use of meth in Asia on ineffective and even counterproductive government responses.

They say national drug-control policies are skewed toward harsh measures that criminalize users but have failed to staunch the deluge of drugs or catch the kingpins behind it.

They also want a greater emphasis on reducing demand through more and better quality drug rehabilitation.

“There is so much scaremongering and hysteria surrounding the issue of drugs,” says Gloria Lai of the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), a global network of 154 non-governmental groups. “That’s a disincentive for challenging old ways of thinking.”

Meth is a transnational business, worth around $15 billion in mainland Southeast Asia alone in 2013, the UNODC says.

Much of the production takes place in laboratories in lawless western Myanmar. Ingredients such as pseudoephedrine and caffeine are smuggled across porous borders from India, China and Vietnam.

Laos and Thailand are major trafficking routes, with the finished product traveling by road or along the Mekong River for distribution throughout Southeast Asia and China.

Meth is sold in cheap pills called “ya ba”, a Thai name meaning “crazy medicine”, or in a more potent, crystalline form known as “crystal meth”, “ice” or “shabu”.

Contraband is effectively hidden amid rising volumes of regional trade, leaving law enforcement to play catch-up, said Jeremy Douglas, the UNODC’s Asia Pacific chief.

“We need to start thinking about big-time regional engagement, up to the highest level. It’s impossible to deal with the problem on a country-by-country basis,” he said.

“I can’t recall the last time a major trafficking kingpin was caught.”

SOCIAL COST

The meth explosion carries huge social consequences: overburdened health services, overcrowded prisons, families and communities torn apart.

Small-time users and dealers bear the brunt of unsparing law enforcement that is popular in crime-weary communities. In mid-July, as drug war killings escalated in the Philippines, one survey put President Duterte’s approval rating at 91 percent.

Thailand launched an equally popular “war on drugs” in 2003 that rights activists said killed about 2,800 people in three months, a death toll later halved by a government-appointed inquiry. Figures show it had no lasting impact on meth supply or demand in Thailand.

“The world has lost the war on drugs, not only Thailand,” the country’s justice minister Paiboon Koomchaya told Reuters in July.

Paiboon hinted at a radical shift in policy, saying he wanted to reclassify meth to reduce sentences for possessing and dealing the drug.

For now though, Thailand continues to jail thousands of petty drug users, with about 70 percent of its 300,000 or so prisoners jailed on drugs offences, according to government data.

TOUGH TO TREAT

Meth addiction is tough to treat, ideally requiring costly and time-consuming counseling. Long-term use can cause changes in brain structure and function.

In March, U.S. President Barack Obama said drug dependency should be seen as “a public health problem and not a criminal problem”, part of a bid to roll back a “war on drugs” begun in the 1970s and now widely seen as a failure.

Policy in Asia is largely moving in the opposite direction, with drug rehabilitation underfunded and inadequate.

Less than 1 percent of dependent drug users in Indonesia got treatment in 2014, said the UNODC. Lacking alternatives, desperate Indonesians resort to herbal baths, Islamic prayer and other remedies of unproven efficacy.

“Rehab” in many countries often means detention at a state facility. In Thailand, thousands of users are held at army camps for four months. Relapse rates at drug detention centers range from 60-90 percent, says the World Health Organisation.

“Often, the government response causes more harm to an individual than the drug itself,” said the IDPC’s Lai.

Evidence shows that the most effective treatment is voluntary and community-based. A 2015 study in Malaysia found that half the people at compulsory centers relapsed within 32 days of release, compared with 429 days for those who had volunteered for treatment.

Tackling demand is complicated by meth’s broad appeal across different ages, professions and social classes.

In Myanmar, manual laborers claim that smoking ya ba boosts their stamina, while students say it boosts their grades.

A Yangon student who asked to be identified by the nickname “Nick” told Reuters at a grim state-run rehab clinic that he smoked ya ba to help him concentrate on his studies.

When asked how many of his fellow students also used it, Nick replied: “Almost all of them.”

(Additional reporting by Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Patpicha Tanakasempipat in Bangkok, Kanupriya Kapoor in Jakarta and Wa Lone in Yangon; Editing by Alex Richardson)

Philippine minister says senator investigating drug killings linked to drugs

Senator Leila de Lima speaks at a Senate hearing regarding people killed during a crackdown on illegal drugs in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines

MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippine government made another attack on Thursday on a senator who is leading an inquiry into a spate of killings unleashed by President Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs”, saying evidence she was linked to drugs was “overflowing”.

Senator Leila de Lima has denounced the government’s attacks on her as “madness” and she has appealed to Duterte to stop the string of bizarre accusations and insults against her.

On Thursday, she denounced government “harassment” of her and said it was fabricating evidence against her.

About 2,400 people have been killed in Duterte’s drug war since he came to power two months ago, according to police figures. Police say the toll is a result of drug dealers resisting arrest or gang feuds.

De Lima set up a Senate inquiry into the killings and held the first hearings last month.

Justice Minister Vitaliano Aguirre told reporters two former members of de Lima’s staff and a third person, a prisoner in a penitentiary, had made sworn statements linking the senator to the drug trade.

“What they have provided is volunteered information,” Aguirre said. “It is not true that the evidence are being manufactured against her. These information are just overflowing.”

De Lima was justice minister for six years in former President Benigno Aquino’s government and won a seat as a senator in May elections.

She told Reuters in an interview this week she had no fears for her life because it would be clear who was to blame if anything happened to her, but she had been warned by people close to Duterte to stop questioning the extra-judicial killings.

Duterte won the May election on a promise to wipe out drugs and dealers.

(Reporting by Manuel Mogato; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Death toll in Philippines drug war hits 2000

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte speaks during a National Heroes Day commemoration at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes' Cemetery) in Taguig city, Metro Manila

By Manuel Mogato

MANILA (Reuters) – The number of drug-related killings in the Philippines since Rodrigo Duterte became president two months ago on a pledge to wipe out the illegal drug trade, has reached around 2,000, according to data released on Tuesday.

There has been popular support for his campaign, but the wave of killings unleashed since his election victory has alarmed rights groups and brought expressions of concern from the United States, a close ally of Manila.

As officials readied a publicity campaign to explain his fight against on narcotics, the Philippine National Police said that close to 900 drug traffickers and users had been killed in police operations from July 1 to August 20. That was an increase of 141 people over a week, on average 20 people a day.

Last week the police said 1,100 other drug-related killings that were not classified as police operations were also being investigated. No new number for that category was given on Tuesday but, together with the new figure for police encounters, the total came to around 2,000.

Duterte won the presidency of the Southeast Asian nation in a May election on a promise to wipe out drugs.

Two U.N. human rights experts recently urged the Philippines to stop extra-judicial killings, drawing a furious response from Duterte, who threatened to pull his country out of the United Nations. His foreign minister later rowed back on the threat.

Duterte’s communications secretary, Martin Andanar, said on Monday that a 30-second advertisement explaining the anti-drug campaign would be aired over the next week by commercial and public TV stations and by movie theaters.

“The government is not spending a single centavo on these ads and TV stations are carrying them for free,” Andanar told reporters at an event in a Manila hotel.

“THIS IS A WAR”

He said his office would also publish a 40-page pamphlet to explain the rising body count. This would be issued on the president’s first trip abroad next week, first to Brunei and then to an East Asia summit in Laos.

“Some people abroad have to understand why many people are getting killed in the anti-drug campaign. They must understand, this is a war and there are casualties,” Andanar said.

“The pamphlet will inform and explain that the government was not killing people at random, that these killings are not extrajudicial in nature but as part of the anti-crime campaign. Some of those killed were police officers who are involved in criminal activities.”

The White House said on Monday that U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to meet Duterte in Laos on Sept. 6, and plans to touch on human rights as well as security concerns.

Duterte’s crackdown on drugs and some strongly worded criticism he has made of the United States present a dilemma for Washington, which has been seeking to forge unity among allies and partners in Asia in the face of an increasingly assertive China, especially in the strategic South China Sea.

There have been few signs in the Philippines itself of a backlash against the war on drugs.

However, on Tuesday a newly formed group called the “Stop the Killings Network” announced a #Lightforlife campaign that would start with simultaneous candle-lighting events on Wednesday evening at six venues across Manila.

(Writing by John Chalmers; Editing by Richard Balmforth)

Philippines gets first coastguard boat from Japan to boost security

Japan giving Philippines ship

MANILA (Reuters) – Japan on Thursday delivered to the Philippines the first of 10 coastguard vessels to help it improve its maritime security and law enforcement in the South China Sea where tension has been rising over a territorial dispute with China.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea where about $5 trillion worth of sea-borne trade passes every year. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims in the sea believed to have rich deposits of oil and gas.

Japan has no claims in the waterway but worries about China’s growing military reach across sea lanes through which much of Japan’s trade passes.

Philippine coastguard chief Rear Admiral William Melad said the 44-metre (144-foot) vessel from Japan would be sent out to sea on patrols and law enforcement operations.

“It can be used for maritime security operations but it’s not for combat,” Melad told reporters.

The boat would also be used for humanitarian work and disaster relief operations. Japan will supply nine more of the vessels under a 7.3 billion peso ($158 million) soft loan agreement.

Melad did not mention China but its increasingly assertive claims in disputed South China Sea waters pose for the Philippines its most pressing security concern.

China has dredged up sand and built up reefs to make seven islands in the Spratly islands, some with port facilities and air strips.

China says is has the right to do whatever work it wants on its territory, and its aims are entirely peaceful, but an arbitration court in The Hague last month rejected China’s historic claim to the South China Sea.

China did not participate in and has refused to accept the July 12 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

Japan and the Philippines are in talks about two more large coastguard ships worth about 10 billion pesos ($215 million) and the lease of four TC-90 surveillance aircraft.

Japan has also warming relations with Vietnam, promising to help strengthen its coastguard with training, vessels and other equipment.

Philippine coastguard spokesman Commander Armand Balilo said the force would be expanded over the next two years with the recruitment of 6,000 more personnel and the acquisition of more boats and aircraft from the United States to protect the country’s exclusive economic zone.

(Reporting by Manuel Mogato; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Dozens of Philippine officials surrender after being linked to Drug trade

A drug user raises his ink smeared hand after he surrendered to local government officials to take part in a government

By Manuel Mogato

MANILA (Reuters) – Dozens of Philippine government and police officials turned themselves in on Monday, a day after President Rodrigo Duterte linked them to the drugs trade, stepping up a war on narcotics that has killed hundreds since he took office in June.

More than 400 suspected drug dealers have been killed by police across the Philippines since Duterte took over, officials say. Broadcaster ABS-CNN put the number at over 800, though this includes executions by anonymous vigilantes.

On Monday, 27 mayors and 31 police officers, including a colonel, went to the national police office in the capital, Manila, to clear their names, fearing the president’s order to hunt them down if they failed to surrender within 24 hours.

Several local officials reported to regional police offices to beat the deadline set by Duterte, who won the elections in May on a single platform of fighting crime and drugs.

On Sunday, he identified about 160 officials in a name-and-shame campaign.

“I want to change,” a Cebu-based businessman tagged as a top-level drug trafficker told reporters after he met national police chief Ronald dela Rosa.

Nicknamed “the punisher” and “Duterte Harry” for his brutal fight on crime, Duterte has hit back at activists incensed by the surge in the killings of suspected drug traffickers.

Alarmed human rights groups have urged the United Nations to condemn the rise in extrajudicial killings. The Philippine Senate is to hold a legislative inquiry.

Dela Rosa reprimanded the police officers on Duterte’s list, threatening to kill them if they continued to protect drug traders and resell seized drugs. At one point, he challenged them to a fistfight.

“I am mad with what is happening,” Dela Rosa said in a speech to local officials and police. “I am ashamed. We should be the ones arresting these people, but we are protecting them. I will kill you if you will not change.”

All police officers linked to the drug trade were disarmed, investigated and could face criminal and administrative cases if there was strong evidence, said national police spokesman Dionardo Carlos.

“They will be accorded due process,” he added.

Besides local officials and police officers, Duterte’s list included two retired police generals, soldiers, paramilitary members, judges and a former lawmaker.

In a letter, Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on Monday told the president the court alone had the right to discipline judges. One judge named by Duterte died eight years ago and two others have already been removed.

In his maiden speech to the Senate, boxing icon Manny Pacquiao supported Duterte’s drug war and proposal to restore the death penalty for drug crimes, and advocated execution by hanging or by firing squad.

(Reporting by Manuel Mogato; Editing by John Chalmers and Clarence Fernandez)

The dark side of Philippines popular drug war

Jennelyn Olaires, 26, cradles the body of her partner, who was killed on a street by a vigilante group, according to police, in a spate of drug related killings in Pasay city, Metro Manila, Philippines

By Czar Dancel

MANILA (Reuters) – When the image of Jennelyn Olaires weeping as she cradled the body of her slain husband went viral in the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte called it melodramatic.

There’s not much Duterte hasn’t said when it comes to his war on drugs, his only real election platform and his big promise to the 16 million Filipinos who swept him to power in May by a massive margin.

And “the punisher”, as he is known, has been true to his word.

Hundreds of suspected drug dealers have been killed since Duterte took office just one month ago. Six were assassinated in a single night in Manila, among them Michael Siaron, Olaires’s 29-year-old husband who was shot dead by unknown assailants on motorcycles.

“A friend called out that Michael was shot. I ran out to see him,” Olaires, 26, said in a rundown part of the capital’s Pasay area, with its ubiquitous slums, squatters and thieves.

“Thoughts were running in my mind. It can’t be you. You don’t deserve this. There are others who deserve this more than you,” she said, recalling the moment she discovered his body.

“If I only have wings, I will quickly fly to his side.”

(For a Wider Image photo series of Jennelyn Olaires, see http://reut.rs/2anBCTt)

Photographers surrounded her behind a police cordon as she held his body. A piece of cardboard was left next to his corpse with the word “pusher” written on it.

Dozens of similar killings have taken place almost daily in the Philippines, but with drugs and crime so deep-rooted, there is barely any public outrage.

Some 316 suspected drug dealers were killed from July 1-27, 195 of which were vigilante killings, according to police. Human rights groups estimate the body count to be at least double the official number.

‘KILL DRUGS, NOT PEOPLE’

Duterte has not condemned vigilante killings. He has previously promoted them.

The tough-talking former mayor of Davao City mentioned the image of Olaires holding her husband in his state of the union address on Monday and said media had tried to portray it as being like the Michelangelo’s Pieta, the sculpture of Mary holding the body of Jesus.

Olaires will bury her husband on Sunday. She concedes he was a drug user but says it is impossible he was a dealer because they were too poor and could barely pay for their next meal.

Siaron made money by riding a pedicab – a bicycle with a sidecar – and did odd jobs.

He even voted for Duterte in the May 9 election.

“They must kill the ones who don’t deserve to live anymore, the ones who are a menace to society. Because they cause harm to others. But not the innocent people,” she said.

“I don’t need the public’s sympathy. I don’t need the president to notice us.

“I know that he doesn’t like this kind of people. But for me, I just hope that they get the true offenders.”

Asked if she had a message to tell Duterte, she said: “kill drugs, not people.”

(Additional reporting by Erik De Castro; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Kim Coghill)