A police SWAT member stands guard as police operatives examine the scene where two bodies lay on a road after being killed in a police drug “buy-bust” operation before dawn Friday, Sept. 23, 2016 in Pasig city, east of Manila, Philippines. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
Reacting to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey that showed nearly 8 out 10 Filipinos feared becoming victims of extrajudicial killings, Malacañang on Monday maintained that the Duterte administration’s campaign against illegal drugs was not aimed at poor and innocent individuals.
“On the worry of Filipinos about becoming victims of extrajudicial killings, we recognize our people’s concern as we assure them that the government’s anti-drug operations are not aimed at poor, innocent, hapless individuals,” Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said in a statement.
“Extrajudicial killings are not state-sponsored and we denounce riding-in-tandem murders perpetrated by common criminals wrongly attributed in news reports as part of police operations,” Andanar said.
The SWS survey, conducted from Dec. 3 to 6, showed that 78 percent of 1,500 respondents expressed worry that they or someone they know would be killed—45 percent said they were “very worried” they would fall victim to summary executions, while 33 percent said they were “somewhat worried.”
The same poll showed that Filipinos are divided on the claims of policemen that drug suspects being killed in the antinarcotics campaign allegedly resisted arrest—29 percent of respondents said the police were not telling the truth, while 28 percent believed otherwise.
But Andanar maintained that police are conducting only legitimate operations that “require observance of operational protocols.”
“Murder is murder… Police authorities who violate procedures are made to answer before the law. Suspected drug personalities who resist and fight back with arms have to be dealt with appropriately. The proper enforcement of our laws requires the use of reasonable force merited by the attendant circumstances,” he added.
Andanar highlighted that the war on drugs still received an “excellent” net public satisfaction rating from the public, and that 70 percent of respondents in the SWS survey said that the administration was serious in addressing extrajudicial killings.
“Rest assured that the Duterte administration respects the law and uphold the basic rights of our people, regardless of beliefs and political persuasions,” he added. JE/rga
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