Caloocan bishop calls for review of the government's war on drugs

Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David said the lives of many young people are in peril if the government continues its violent war against drugs, according to a post on the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) website.

The prelate said the government's anti-illegal drugs program is "naïve, seriously flawed, and needs serious evaluation and rethinking."

"If they don’t stop the killing, we’ll have more Kians and Karls," said David, who is also the incoming CBCP Vice President.

He was referring to the killing of Carl Angelo Arnaiz, 19, and Kian Loyd delos Santos during police operations in Caloocan City.

"The case of Carl Angelo Arnaiz was a murder, plain and simple except that it was committed by our law enforcers. That gives a chilling effect," the bishop was quoted as saying.

"I will insist that Kian and Carl are not isolated cases. The Caloocan policemen just happen to be 'sloppy' in carrying out their extrajudicial killings. They've made it too obvious," he said.

Arnaiz was accused of trying to rob a taxi driver and was killed when he resisted arrest.

His body was found by his parents at a funeral home in Caloocan City 10 days after he had gone missing from their hometown of Cainta, Rizal.

Delos Santos, meanwhile, was killed during an Oplan Galugad operation after he resisted arrest and opened fire at the police.

It was later found that Delos Santos tested negative for gunpowder nitrates.

Bishop David called for the investigation of other drug-related deaths, adding that the drug war has created a climate of impunity.

The prelate welcomed the efforts to probe on the killings. However, he voiced hope that the efforts are not just for Kian and Carl but for the other victims of the war on drugs.

"The true criminals remain at large, flooding the country with tons of illegal drugs because corruption in government agencies remains unchecked," David said.

“It (drug war) did not begin by defining who its real enemies and allies are. It has only reinforced in our police a culture of impunity that is affecting the credibility of the whole institution,” he added. — BAP, GMA News