HRW questions Duterte's claim that rival gangs are behind EJKs

Human Rights Watch (HRW) is questioning President Rodrigo Duterte’s claim that the extrajudicial killings (EJKs) in the Philippines are perpetrated by rival drug syndicates.

In a statement on Tuesday, the group said Duterte's claim “is specious, self-serving, and utterly without basis.”

The HRW noted that the "drug war" killings happened immediately after Duterte, who made war on drugs the centerpiece of his administration, was elected president in 2016.

“Since then, thousands have died and with the exception of the case of Kian de los Santos, there has been no successful prosecution of either police officers or mysterious civilian killers,” HRW said.

The group stood firm on its claim that “police or other local authorities” perpetrated most of the killings — an accusation repeatedly denied by the Philippine National Police and Malacanang.

In a public address aired on Monday night, Duterte said the he conducted a discreet hearing on the EJKs where he received information that some of them were results of rivalry among syndicates.

“This extrajudicial killing they have been harping for many years truthfully ha, truthfully, nagdududa rin ako and there was a time when I conducted a discreet hearing kung bakit,” Duterte said.

“Sometimes there is a rivalry of the turf, ‘yung teritoryo niya, kung sino ang humahawak. Pangalawa, ‘yung who absconded, ‘yung tinakbo ‘yung pera. And third, ‘yung ninanakaw ‘yung ano nila sa street level kinukuha. Iyan ang hindi natin alam,” he added.

But according to HRW, many of the EJKs involved police routinely manufacturing evidence by planting drugs and weapons on dead suspects to justify their claim that they had fought back.

“Moreover, the police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency admit that they have killed nearly 6,000 in these anti-drug operations but have no investigations to show in virtually all these cases,” it said.

It also doubted the ‘discreet’ hearing that Duterte conducted on the killings.

“The 'hearing' he claimed to conduct to arrive at this far-fetched conclusion was never disclosed to the public, raising questions about whether it ever happened at all,” HRW said.

HRW pointed out that if Duterte had serious doubts about the conduct of the police, he should have announced a thorough and credible investigation.  —Joviland Rita/KBK, GMA News