[Comprehensive News from Overseas Chinese News Network] Recently, the Philippines official rarely admitted that more than a hundred police officers committed crimes in the anti-drug operation led by President Duterte.
Duterte and his eldest daughter Sarah. (Photo source: Reuters)
Reuters reported that Philippine Justice Minister Cuevara said on the 3rd that based on a preliminary investigation, 154 police officers may have committed criminal offenses during the anti-drug operation.
This is a rare admission by the Philippine government that Duterte’s iron-fisted anti-drug campaign may involve abuse of power.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague ruled on September 15 that the anti-drug campaign launched by Duterte after taking office may constitute crimes against humanity and approved the launch of a comprehensive investigation. At that time, Duterte's lawyer insisted that the International Criminal Court had no jurisdiction over the Philippines and that Duterte would not cooperate with the investigation.
In a televised speech on the evening of the 4th, Duterte still insisted that the International Criminal Court has no right to interfere in the internal affairs of the Philippines. He said: "I will defend my innocence, and the ICC should stop making up stories."
According to the latest official news from the Philippines Statistics show that since Duterte became president in 2016, 6,181 people have died in anti-drug operations. According to estimates by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, the death toll may range from 12,000 to 30,000.
A report released by the United Nations in June stated that Duterte’s drug war involved “widespread and systematic killings.” The report stated that since 2016, the Philippine police, with encouragement from the highest levels of the government, had Drug suspects used lethal force, resulting in thousands of suspects being killed by police and unknown gunmen.
Human rights organizations accuse Duterte of dispatching corrupt police and death squads to carry out mass murders, affecting innocent civilians and committing crimes against humanity.
According to Hong Kong's " Wen Wei Po " and Reuters reports, Duterte suddenly announced on the 2nd of this month that he would withdraw from politics and give up running for the position of vice president in the next general election.
Duterte said that day that the Filipino people generally believed that he was not qualified to run for vice president, so he decided to follow the will of the people. He also said that he would retire from politics after the expiration of his presidential term. When Duterte announced his intention to abandon the candidacy, he also made it clear that his daughter Sarah would run for president. According to local media reports, the news has also been confirmed by Sarah herself. (End)
