De Lima condemns killing of 5-year-old kid slid inside eco bag; blames drug war

Senator Leila de Lima on Sunday denounced the killing of a five-year-old child in Santa Cruz, Laguna and said her death shows the government's war on drugs has failed.

“Saan po ba humantong ang bansa makalipas ang tatlong taon sa puwesto ng rehimeng Duterte? Libo-libo na ang pinaslang ng War on Drugs ng kanyang gobyerno, pero bakit patuloy pa rin ang mga karumal-dumal na krimen sa lipunan, pati na ang lalong paglubha ng kalakaran ng ilegal na droga?” de Lima said in a statement.

The victim was first reported missing after last seen playing outside their house.

Her dead body was next found inside an eco bag.

The suspect identified as Glenn Ford Manzanero was arrested. He admitted to committing the crime while under the influence of shabu.

“Patunay lang ito na talagang hindi epektibo ang marahas at madugong polisiya ni Duterte. Nakababahala na sa mga susunod na taon, kapag patuloy na nanahimik at kinunsinte lamang ng ibang mga pinuno ang araw-araw na patayan, ay magpatuloy lamang ang ganitong karahasan at kawalang pananagutan sa bansa,” De Lima said.

The senator said the administration should rethink its anti-narcotics policy as it "has miserably failed to stop suspected drug offenders from committing crimes."

“Sa patuloy na paghihikayat ng Pangulo ng patayan sa ating bayan, mas lalo lang niyang binibigyan ng lakas ng loob ang mga masasamang loob na gumawa ng ganitong karumal-dumal na krimen dahil tila nakatatak na sa isip nila na ‘okay lang pumatay’. Maling-mali!” de Lima said.

But earlier this year, pollster Social Weather Stations' survey showed that 66 percent of the of Filipinos approved of the war on drugs of the present administration, and believed that the number of drug users in the country has declined.

Malacañang, in response, said the result of the survey conducted last December 16 to 19,  2018 is a validation of the success of the Duterte administration’s campaign against illegal drugs. —KG/LBG, GMA News