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MANILA, Philippines — There should be no deaths in the implementation of the Duterte administration’s anti-narcotics campaign and that version of “death penalty,” which resulted in the recent spike in drug killings, should not have been carried out by authorities, especially when the country has already abolished capital punishment.
Senate president Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III issued this statement Monday after the Upper Chamber’s majority bloc moved for the investigation of the recent escalation of the police’s drug-related killings in Bulacan and Metro Manila, including the death of Grade 11 student Kian Loyd Delos Santos.
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In a resolution signed by members of the majority bloc led by Senate president Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, the lawmakers “condemned” Delos Santos’ killing during an August 16 police anti-drug operation in Caloocan City and also directed the “appropriate Senate Committee to inquire and review the conduct of anti-drug operations by the PNP as an institution, to held erring officials within their ranks liable for the commission any crime or offense.”
“Dapat kasi naman wala namang namamatay in the ordinary course of events kasi una sa lahat, wala naman tayong death penalty. At kung may death penalty, hindi naman ganyan ang pag-implement ng death penalty,” Pimentel said during an interview with dzMM radio.
While acknowledging that there is of course a law on self-defense — the reason often cited by the police on why the number of drug deaths escalates — Pimentel said the Senate majority bloc, during a caucus Sunday night, decided to validate via a legislative inquiry whether the spike in the killings was really because of “nanlaban” incidents.
“So titingnan po natin ito. Ano ba ang mechanics nitong Oplan Double Barrel Reloaded?…Klaro ba sa pulis kailan sila dapat gagamit ng baril nila o when they are allowed to…employ force? Tatanungin po natin lahat ito,” he said.
The Senate Committee on Public Order chaired by Sen. Panfilo Lacson was requested by the majority bloc to lead the investigation into the drug killings, according to Pimentel.
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“Ang mangyayari po sa resolusyon, ang first reading n’yan will be referred to the public order (committee) chaired by Senator Lacson and s’ya na mag-schedule sa hearing n’ya,” said the Senate president.
On August 17, 28 people were killed in Manila following another series of anti-narcotics operations, which was followed by the August 18 slay of another 13 persons in the same city.
In a span of only 24 hours from August 15 to 16, a total of 32 people were killed in Bulacan during a series of police anti-drug operations in the province.
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Delos Santos, 17, was among the fatalities. According to the police, the 17-year-old student tried to run away and later engaged in a shootout with authorities from Precinct 7 along Block 7 Riverside in Barangay Baesa, Caloocan.
But according to witnesses and CCTV footage, Delos Santos had already been apprehended by the police and that was forced to hold a gun and run with the weapon before he was shot.
Meanwhile, anti-killings groups, Rise Up For Life and Rights, Stop the Killings Network, and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan said they would hold a “Walk for Justice” Monday for Delos Santos and all the victims of the Duterte administration’s drug war.
The groups said they would also light candles at the crime scene where Delos Santos was killed before holding a program at his wake.
The groups have the following schedules on Monday:
4:30 PM – Assembly at Sta. Quiteria Church, Caloocan City
5:00 PM – Walk and Candle Lighting for Justice at the Crime Scene
6:00 PM – Walk to the Wake of Kian Delos Santos
They said Monday’s protest is only a prelude to a series of rallies this week.
Also, various groups are set to hold #ShoutForLife noise barrage and candle lighting protest at Camp Crame in Quezonm City on Wednesday in time for the third month of Duterte’s imposition of martial law in Mindanao.
A Metro-wide indignation rally is likwise set for the #BlackFriday protest on August 25 in various protest centers in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
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Source: Interasksyon
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