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| Philippines Police Chief Says He Will Suspend Participation in Drug War | Philippines Police Chief Says He Will Suspend Participation in Drug War |
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| MANILA — The top police official in the Philippines said Monday that he would suspend police participation in the nation’s bloody drug war while he conducted a purge of rogue officers. | MANILA — The top police official in the Philippines said Monday that he would suspend police participation in the nation’s bloody drug war while he conducted a purge of rogue officers. |
| But President Rodrigo Duterte said earlier on Monday that the crackdown would continue until “the last day of my term,” raising questions about whether a suspension would do anything to halt the violence. | But President Rodrigo Duterte said earlier on Monday that the crackdown would continue until “the last day of my term,” raising questions about whether a suspension would do anything to halt the violence. |
| At least 3,600 people, and possibly thousands more, have been killed by the police or by vigilantes since Mr. Duterte came to power. Human rights groups have said the extrajudicial killings of drug dealers and users may have been ordered by the police, a charge officials have denied. | At least 3,600 people, and possibly thousands more, have been killed by the police or by vigilantes since Mr. Duterte came to power. Human rights groups have said the extrajudicial killings of drug dealers and users may have been ordered by the police, a charge officials have denied. |
| The head of the Philippine National Police, Ronald dela Rosa, said at a news conference on Monday that the Drug Enforcement Agency would instead have the authority to pursue drug cases. He was responding to criticism after a South Korean businessman was strangled at Police Headquarters last year by officers who later extorted ransom money from his family under the pretense that he was alive. | The head of the Philippine National Police, Ronald dela Rosa, said at a news conference on Monday that the Drug Enforcement Agency would instead have the authority to pursue drug cases. He was responding to criticism after a South Korean businessman was strangled at Police Headquarters last year by officers who later extorted ransom money from his family under the pretense that he was alive. |
| “Ready yourselves, you bad cops,” Mr. dela Rosa said. “We no longer have a war on drugs, but we now have a war on scalawags. We will clean house now.” | “Ready yourselves, you bad cops,” Mr. dela Rosa said. “We no longer have a war on drugs, but we now have a war on scalawags. We will clean house now.” |
| His order came hours after President Duterte rejected calls to fire the police chief, who is one of his most loyal allies. | His order came hours after President Duterte rejected calls to fire the police chief, who is one of his most loyal allies. |
| Mr. dela Rosa said the suspension would last about a month, during which the antidrug units in the police, which has about 120,000 officers, would be dissolved and overhauled. He said he had already ordered the internal affairs service to submit a list of rogue police officers who had been cleared and for their cases to be reviewed again. He said that the purge would start in the capital, Manila, and the main island of Luzon. | Mr. dela Rosa said the suspension would last about a month, during which the antidrug units in the police, which has about 120,000 officers, would be dissolved and overhauled. He said he had already ordered the internal affairs service to submit a list of rogue police officers who had been cleared and for their cases to be reviewed again. He said that the purge would start in the capital, Manila, and the main island of Luzon. |
| Mr. Duterte told an earlier news conference on Monday that rogue officers in the police force were committing crimes “on the pretext of doing the drug war.” | Mr. Duterte told an earlier news conference on Monday that rogue officers in the police force were committing crimes “on the pretext of doing the drug war.” |
| He added: “They are now a new strain of the original big-time drug syndicates. And out of this was born corrupt officers who use warrants on the pretext that they are arresting you or searching you for drugs.” | |
| Some rights groups suggested that the suspension amounted to a public relations exercise and did not seek accountability for the thousands of deaths linked to the crackdown on drug dealers and addicts. | Some rights groups suggested that the suspension amounted to a public relations exercise and did not seek accountability for the thousands of deaths linked to the crackdown on drug dealers and addicts. |
| Phelim Kine, deputy director for Asia of Human Rights Watch, said of Mr. dela Rosa: “His willful blind eye to those deaths constitutes a disgraceful betrayal of the public trust and is a telling indicator of his personal contempt for rule of law and the right to life of his fellow citizens.” | Phelim Kine, deputy director for Asia of Human Rights Watch, said of Mr. dela Rosa: “His willful blind eye to those deaths constitutes a disgraceful betrayal of the public trust and is a telling indicator of his personal contempt for rule of law and the right to life of his fellow citizens.” |
| Amnesty International said in a news release that the suspension, coupled with Mr. Duterte’s declaration that the crackdown would ultimately continue, ignored the root of the problem. “These contradictory statements offer little hope that the wave of extrajudicial executions that has claimed more than a thousand lives a month will end,” it said. | Amnesty International said in a news release that the suspension, coupled with Mr. Duterte’s declaration that the crackdown would ultimately continue, ignored the root of the problem. “These contradictory statements offer little hope that the wave of extrajudicial executions that has claimed more than a thousand lives a month will end,” it said. |
| Rights groups tied the killing of the South Korean businessman, Jee Ick-joo, 53, to Mr. Duterte’s antidrug campaign, saying that the officers had been emboldened by his promise to shield those involved in the crackdown from prosecution. | Rights groups tied the killing of the South Korean businessman, Jee Ick-joo, 53, to Mr. Duterte’s antidrug campaign, saying that the officers had been emboldened by his promise to shield those involved in the crackdown from prosecution. |
| During his election campaign, Mr. Duterte vowed a tough stance on crime, promising to kill 100,000 criminals in his first six months in office and dump so many bodies in Manila Bay that the “fish will grow fat.” | During his election campaign, Mr. Duterte vowed a tough stance on crime, promising to kill 100,000 criminals in his first six months in office and dump so many bodies in Manila Bay that the “fish will grow fat.” |
| But on Sunday, he indicated that he had underestimated the extent of the drug problem and that he would continue the campaign until the end of his tenure in 2022. | But on Sunday, he indicated that he had underestimated the extent of the drug problem and that he would continue the campaign until the end of his tenure in 2022. |