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Agence France-Presse

Philippine police commandos killed six bodyguards on Wednesday who worked for a town mayor who had turned himself in over links to the illegal drug trade, as President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug war shifted from street peddlers to officials.
Hundreds of people have died since Duterte won a landslide election on a pledge to wipe out lawlessness by killing tens of thousands of criminals.
Beijing backs Philippine President Duterte’s ruthless crackdown on drugs
A gunfight broke out between law enforcers and supporters of mayor Rolando Espinosa at dawn on Wednesday outside his property in the central town of Albuera on Leyte island, police said.
“The incident this morning is connected to the current investigation pertaining to the involvement of the mayor and his son in the illegal drugs trade,” national police spokesman Dionaldo Carlos said.
He said six gunmen were killed while police recovered 17 guns and several grenades.

On Monday Duterte gave Espinosa and his son 24 hours to surrender after police arrested five of the mayor’s bodyguards and employees in a drug sting operation.
“Otherwise, an order of ‘shoot on sight’ will be given if they resist and endanger the lives of arresting police officers,” presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said on television.
The mayor surrendered to police on Tuesday. The son is at large.
The mayor “surrendered to me... (following) orders of the president for him to be shot on sight if he resists,” said national police chief Ronald de la Rosa.

Police claim to have killed more than 400 suspected drug dealers in the month since Duterte took office, but rights groups fear the total could be far higher as vigilantes have joined the spree.
Hundreds of anti-narcotics and human rights groups from around the world called Tuesday for the United Nations to condemn Duterte’s policy.
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“International drug control agencies need to make clear to Philippines’ President Roderigo Duterte that the surge in killings of suspected drug dealers and users is not acceptable ‘crime control,’ but instead a government failure to protect people’s most fundamental human rights,” said Phelim Kine , Human Rights Watch’s deputy Asia director.
Philippine Senator Leila M. De Lima, in a speech Tuesday decried what she called the “do-it- yourself justice” system under Duterte.
“We must call for the accountability of state actors responsible for this terrifying trend in law enforcement, and the investigation of killings perpetrated by the vigilante assassins,” she said.

Police chief de la Rosa said Mayor Espinosa had been listed in police records as a “drug protector” whose son controlled the narcotics trade in the Albuera region.
“If you’re listening now Kerwin, your father has already surrendered so you should follow your father,” de la Rosa said in a bizarre live news conference with Espinosa.
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“If you don’t surrender you will die, so better surrender because your life is really in danger.”
Espinosa has publicly denied any part in the drug trade but said his son was peddling “shabu” (methamphetamine), which he gets from a jailed Chinese drug trader.
The raid signalled a shift in Duterte’s drug war from running after street-level peddlers and users to powerful regional politicians and foreign drug traffickers.


Duterte has promised to name dozens of governors, mayors and other politicians he says are involved in the drug trade after identifying three police generals and two former police generals who were protecting drug traffickers.
Police said charges had been filed against another mayor from the southern island of Mindanao after he escaped from a police raid last week, when 16 people were arrested 1 million pesos ($21,263) worth of drugs were seized.
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Last month, also on national television, Duterte told a businessman at a meeting he would “finish you off” unless he stopped dealing in drugs. The businessman denied the allegations.
Police said more than 100,000 other people have also surrendered to the local authorities and pledged to stop using illegal drugs.
Additional reporting by Reuters and Associated Press



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Surrender or die: ‘drug protector’ mayor’s son on the run after police kill bodyguards at luxury compound

Filipino Mayor of Albuera town in Leyte Rolando Espinosa, who is allegedly involved in the drug trade, looks on as Philippine National Police Director General Ronald Dela Rosa speaks to him after Espinosa surrendered. Photo: EPA

epa05451748 An undated photograph released on 02 August 2106 shows Filipino Kerwin Espinosa (C), son of Mayor of Albuera town Rolando Espinosa, who are both allegedly involved in the drug trade, is escorted by policemen during his arrest in Ormoc city, Leyte island, Philippines. Reports on 02 August 2016 state that Mayor Rolando Espinosa, who was subject to a 'shoot on sight' order if resisting arrest that was issued by President Rodrigo Duterte, surrendered ahead of a 24 hour deadline. The Mayor is suspected of drug trafficking and coddling of drug lords after almost 2 million Philippine pesos worth of methamphetamine, locally known as shabu, were recovered from the Mayor's body guards and companions during a police operation on 28 July 2016. His son, Kerwin is still at large and is believed to have had cosmetic surgery to disguise his identity, his father said. EPA/ROBERT DEJON

epa05451751 An image made available on 02 August 2016 shows Filipino policemen in civilian cloathes securing a house of Filipino Mayor Rolando Espinosa in the town of Albuera, Leyte island, Philippines on 01 August 2016. Reports on 02 August 2016 state that Mayor Rolando Espinosa, who was subject to a 'shoot on sight' order if resisting arrest that was issued by President Rodrigo Duterte, surrendered ahead of a 24 hour deadline. The Mayor is suspected of drug trafficking and coddling of drug lords after almost 2 million Philippine pesos worth of methamphetamine, locally known as shabu, were recovered from the Mayor's body guards and companions during a police operation on 28 July 2016. His son, Kerwin is still at large and is believed to have had cosmetic surgery to disguise his identity, his father said. EPA/ROBERT DEJON

epa05452636 The exterior of Mayor Rolando Espinosa's expensive house in the town of Albuera, Leyte island, Philippines on 03 August 2016. At least six alleged supporters of Mayor Rolando Espinosa were killed during a raid conducted by police at his family compound in Albuera town in the early morning hours of 03 August, Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief General Ronald Dela Rosa said. Mayor Rolando Espinosa, who was subject to a 'shoot on sight' order if resisting arrest that was issued by President Rodrigo Duterte, surrendered ahead of a 24 hour deadline on 02 August. The Mayor is suspected of drug trafficking and the coddling of drug lords after almost 2 million Philippine pesos (42,541 US dollar) worth of methamphetamine, locally known as shabu, were recovered from the Mayor's body guards and companions during a police operation on 28 July 2016. His son, Kerwin is still at large and is believed to have had cosmetic surgery to disguise his identity, his father said. EPA/ROBERT DE

epa05451750 An image made available on 02 August 2016 shows Filipino policemen securing a house of Filipino Mayor Rolando Espinosa in the town of Albuera, Leyte island, Philippines on 01 August 2016. Reports on 02 August 2016 state that Mayor Rolando Espinosa, who was subject to a 'shoot on sight' order if resisting arrest that was issued by President Rodrigo Duterte, surrendered ahead of a 24 hour deadline. The Mayor is suspected of drug trafficking and coddling of drug lords after almost 2 million Philippine pesos worth of methamphetamine, locally known as shabu, were recovered from the Mayor's body guards and companions during a police operation on 28 July 2016. His son, Kerwin is still at large and is believed to have had cosmetic surgery to disguise his identity, his father said. EPA/ROBERT DEJON

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Mayor Rolando Espinosa surrenders to police after president warns he would be shot on sight


Surrender or die: ‘drug protector’ mayor’s son on the run after police kill bodyguards at luxury compound

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Mayor Rolando Espinosa surrenders to police after president warns he would be shot on sight

Mayor Rolando Espinosa surrenders to police after president warns he would be shot on sight