Palace: As in any other, collateral damage expected in Duterte’s war on drugs

Just like in any war, Malacañang on Thursday said there's also collateral damage in President Rodrigo Duterte's campaign against illegal drugs.

Acting presidential spokesman Harry Roque added that it was the government's job to minimize the deaths of innocent individuals in the government's war on drugs.

Roque made the remark after a recent Social Weather Stations survey indicated that almost half of Filipinos believed that it was inevitable for innocent persons to get killed in the anti-drug campaign.

“Well, in any war, unfortunately, there will be collateral damage. The goal of the government is to minimize the collateral damage. The goal of the government is to uphold the right to life ‘no, which is to protect and promote the right to life,” Roque said.

“As far as this obligation is concerned, there is a continuing obligation of the state to investigate, prosecute and punish the perpetrators of these killings,” he added.

Roque welcomed the creation of a new alliance of lawyer and legal organizations against extrajudicial killings and human rights violations to help determine if the government is really into EJKs. —NB, GMA News