Anger boils over in Philippines over Duterte's drug war

T TV Tuesday 22/August/2017 12:19 PM
By: Times News Service

As anger simmers over Rodrigo Duterte's drug war, the Philippine President says there could have been abuses in his government's crackdown, ordering the police to take custody of officers who were involved in the killing of a high school student last week. Samantha Vadas reports.
An unprecedented reaction to Rodrigo Duterte's drug war.
Hundreds of protesters on the streets of Manila on Monday (August 21) calling for an end to the crackdown that's killed more than 12,000 people since the president came in to power last year.
As public anger simmers, one case that has become an especially strong symbol of opposition to the drug war is 17-year-old Kian Delos Santos, who's believed to have been captured by a CCTV camera on Thursday (August 17) night being dragged through a street by plain clothed policemen.
He was later found dead after what officials describe as a gunfight.
Public support for the drug war has been strong for more than a year. But now, a growing number of locals are saying say enough's enough and calling for justice for the teenager, who they say dreamed of one day being a policeman.
"We believe, this has been the wakeup call for many to change their views on the war on drugs. It seems that it's not just the users and pushers that are being targeted, but there is also collateral damage," says Marco Gojol, Secretary-General of the Alliance of Progressive Youth.
In an unusual move, Duterte has vowed to jail the officers behind the killing of the teenager if found guilty after watching the CCTV footage himself.
"Let us wait for the investigation, and if the investigation points out liabilities, criminal liabilities, I will order their prosecution to the fullest extent of the law," said Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.
Despite his unshakable stance on killing criminals Duterte admitted on Monday that there may have been abuses in his war on drugs and that guilty police are destroying the credibility of his government.