Nearly 60,000 Filipino drug addicts have surrendered themselves to the government after President Rodrigo Duterte urged citizens to ‘go ahead and kill’ drug dealers and users.
Mr Duterte, dubbed ‘The Punisher’, won elections in May and promised a law-and-order crackdown on drugs.
‘These sons of w****s are destroying our children. I warn you, don’t go into that, even if you’re a policeman, because I will really kill you,’ the president told an audience during a speech in the country’s capital, Manila. …
Police have confirmed killing more than 110 drug suspects since the president came to power, while local news reports suggest that figure is around 200.
President Duterte has warned of widespread bloodshed as part of the government’s war on drugs.
He vowed on one occasion during the election campaign that 100,000 people would die, and so many bodies would be dumped in Manila Bay that the fish there would grow fat from feeding on them, according to the South China Morning Post.
Duterte has also told police he would protect them from legal consequences if they killed drug dealers, the Post reported.
Last week, gruesome images showing slain drug dealers with ‘I’m a pusher’ signs covering their chests emerged.
