Butuan diocese condemns killings in drugs’ name

The diocese of Butuan in Agusan del Norte has condemned the rampant killings amid the government’s campaign against illegal drugs.

Butuan Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos said vigilante killings of suspected drug users should never be allowed, noting judicial process should be followed in a democratic country.

“Campaign versus drugs, in that matter, we could not tolerate or allow just to kill them because of this [or] because of that. It has to undergo judicial process. We are living in a democracy, it has to follow judicial process,” Pueblos said in a Radyo Veritas report released on Wednesday.

Pueblos added that high-profile personalities and Mindanao local government unit officials linked to illegal drug operations were now under investigation.

“That’s true, they are slowly being investigated and monitored so with this kind of work I think something good will come out of this,” Pueblos said.

At the 69th anniversary of the Philippine Air Force, President Rodrigo Duterte in his speech revealed five police generals who were allegedly involved in illegal drug operations.

In a recent report by the Philippine National Police from July 1 to Aug. 2, 565,806 drug suspects have voluntarily surrendered to the police from all over the country. Death toll associated to the campaign against illegal drugs has reached 402. Kathryn Jedi Baylon, trainee