Duterte lauds Bulacan drug raids: Pumatay lang tayo ng 32 every day

President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday expressed satisfaction with the series of anti-drug operations in Bulacan that saw 32 drug suspects killed in the space of 24 hours.

In a speech during the 19th anniversary commemoration of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption in Malacañang, Duterte wryly suggested that perhaps a similar number of killings daily is what the anti-drug campaign needs:

"‘Yung namatay daw kanina sa Bulacan, 32, in a massive raid. Maganda ‘yun. Makapatay lang tayo ng mga another 32 every day then maybe we can reduce the—what ails this country," he said.

Duterte also assailed human rights advocates in his speech.

"Ayaw ninyo kasing maniwala—I’m addressing not you, lalo na ‘yung mga human rights—that drugs was eating our country. That if you do not do anything drastic. ‘Si Duterte walang ano, drugs palagi.’ ‘Yan ang problema." he said.

He said that he is expecting human rights advocates to question the operations' deadly result.

“I think there will be an outcry again na itong 32 na patay kanina in a mass—joint operations by I think it’s all. And they would grieve again for justice,” he said.

“Eh kung kayong mga durugista, you do not observe justice, you destroy the people,” he added.

The President explained that the killing of 32 people had not been planned.

“Ngayon, ‘pag namatay ka, pasensya ka. Pumasok ka diyan eh. You are not specifically being hunted,” he said.

“Kanina, I’m sure na ‘yung—wala namang plinano ‘yun. Ano naman ang makukuha ng pulis diyan? Kaso lang,” he added.

The Bulacan raids involved 66 province-wide operations carried out from 12 a.m. August 15 to 12 a.m. August 16.

Of these raids, 44 were buy-bust operations, 14 involved the serving of search warrants, two set up anti-criminality checkpoints, and one was the serving of an arrest warrant.

Authorities engaged in 20 armed encounters, resulting in the deaths of the 32 drug suspects.

Of the 32 killed, 16 were on their drug watch list, two had surrendered, and 14 were newly identified drug suspects.

Some P1.174 million worth of shabu and  765 grams of marijuana leaves were seized, while 34 firearms, two grenades, and 114 rounds of live ammunition were recovered. — MDM/KVD/BM, GMA News