{UAH} Philippine police shoot backers of 'drug-protector' mayor

Robert Atuahirwe/Sekajja,

Rodrigo Duterte is determined to carry on with his so-called war on crime. But by jettisoning the rule of law and sanctioning extra-judicial executions and vigilante justice, he is beginning a new Reign of Terror in the Philippines, which may surpass the barbarities visited on the Filipino people by the brutal dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Philippine police shoot backers of 'drug-protector' mayor

Posted about an hour agoWed 3 Aug 2016, 7:54am

Photo: Hundreds of people have died since President Duterte took power. (AFP: Noel Celis)

Related Story: Duterte accused of 'reign of terror' in Philippines

Related Story: Bodies pile up in Philippines President Duterte's 'war on drugs'

Related Story: Duterte tells people to 'go ahead and kill' drug addicts

Map: Philippines

Police have shot dead six supporters of a Philippine mayor, authorities said, days after president Rodrigo Duterte threatened to have him "shot on sight" for protecting his drug-dealing son.

Hundreds of people have died since Mr Duterte took power after winning a landslide election on the pledge to wipe out lawlessness by killing tens of thousands of criminals.

A gunfight broke out between law enforcement and supporters of mayor Rolando Espinosa in his central hometown of Albuera, local police said.

Six gunmen were killed while police recovered 17 guns and several grenades, they said.

Two days prior to the incident, Mr Duterte gave the mayor and his son 24 hours to surrender after two of the mayor's bodyguards and three other employees were arrested in a police anti-drug operation.

Problems facing Duterte

While President Rodrigo Duterte's fight against drugs is grabbing headlines, it's not the only policy problem he faces, writes freelance correspondent Ben Bohane.

"Otherwise, an order of 'shoot on sight' will be given if they resist and endanger the lives of arresting police officers," presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said on television.

Mr Espinosa surrendered to police the day before the shooting, saying he feared for his safety after the president threatened reprisals for allegedly coddling his drug-dealing son.

The mayor "surrendered to me... (following) orders of the president for him to be shot on sight if he resists," national police chief Ronald de la Rosa said.

Police claim to have killed more than 400 suspected drug dealers since Mr Duterte was elected, but rights groups fear the total could be far higher as vigilantes have joined the spree.

AFP

From other news sites:

• New York Times: Body Count Rises as Philippine President Wages War on Drugs
• Daily Mail: 'Don't follow me, I am a pusher': Notes left with dealers shot dead in the streets of Manila in the Philippines' bloody war on drugs - as the president orders corrupt officials ...
• SBS: Street-executions are surging in President Duterte's Philippines
• Huffington Post: Killings Of Suspected Drug Offenders By Police And Vigilantes Surge In The Philippines
• Yahoo!7 News: Bodies pile up in Philippines streets as rights groups recoil at president Rodrigo Duterte s bloody war on drugs - Yahoo7

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