A STALWART WARRIOR IN THE WAR ON DRUGS

Duterte's deadliest day: 32 suspects are killed in 24 hours - the highest death toll yet during the Philippine leader's brutal war on drugs

By AFP and Julian Robinson

Daily Mail
August 16, 2017

Philippine police have killed 32 people in one day during 'shock and awe' raids - the highest daily death toll yet during the Philippine leader's brutal war on drugs.

President Rodrigo Duterte has waged a bloody crackdown on drugs during his 14 months in power that has seen police and suspected vigilantes kill thousands of people.

In one of the deadliest operations of the war, police reported killing 32 people in a series of raids on suspected drug traffickers across Bulacan province, which neighbours the capital of Manila.

Duterte has since urged his officers to kill dozens of drug suspects every day.

'The ones who died recently in Bulacan, 32, in a massive raid, that was good,' Duterte said in a speech to an anti-crime organisation that has backed the drug war.

'If we could kill another 32 everyday, then maybe we can reduce what ails this country.'

Earlier in the day Bulacan police chief Romeo Caramat held a press conference in Manila to publicise the raids, in which 109 suspects were also arrested.

'We wanted to shock and awe these drug personalities,' Caramat said.

'Other drug personalities will think twice before continuing with their drug trade.'

Caramat insisted the police had killed the suspects in self defence, adding that pistols and grenades had been seized in the raids.

'We know we have done nothing wrong,' Caramat said.

When asked how it was possible there had been no police wounded if the raiding officers had been acting in self defence, Caramat said: 'Don't ask me to explain'.

'We wanted to shock and awe these drug personalities,' Romeo Caramat, the Bulacan police chief, told reporters in Manila on Wednesday, adding 109 suspects had also been arrested.

'Other drug personalities will think twice before continuing with their drug trade.'

Caramat insisted the police had only killed the suspects in self defence, and highlighted in the press conference that pistols and grenades had been seized in the raids.

'We know we have done nothing wrong,' Caramat said.

He later told AFP that no police had been killed or wounded.

When asked how it was possible there had been no police wounded if the raiding officers had been acting in self defence when killing 32 people, Caramat said: 'Don't ask me to explain'.

Duterte easily won last year's presidential election largely on a vow to kill tens of thousands of drug traffickers and addicts, which he said was necessary to stop the country's slide to narco-state status.

Duterte promised during the campaign he would win his drug war in three to six months, a vow that resonated with voters fed up with high crime rates and corrupt politicians.

Duterte then as president railed against critics who said it was impossible to quickly end the drugs problem by killing traffickers and addicts.

But Duterte, who is limited by the constitution to serving a single term of six years, conceded last week that he may be unable to deliver on his campaign pledge.

'Look, these shabu (meth) and drugs, et cetera, cannot be solved by one man, for a president for one term. It has bogged nations (down),' he said in his southern home city of Davao on Friday.

But in another speech last week, at national police headquarters, Duterte also signalled there would be no change in tactics.

He again vowed to pardon police if they were found guilty of murder for killing while fighting his drug war.