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Agence France-Presse

The head of the Philippines’ powerful Catholic Church called on Sunday for an end to the “waste of human lives” following a brutal week in President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war in which a 17-year-old boy was among dozens killed.
Police raids dubbed “One Time Big Time” saw at least 76 people shot dead, authorities said, as rights groups and lawmakers condemned the operation as an alarming “killing spree” in Duterte’s flagship campaign.
On Sunday, the highest-ranking church official in the predominantly Catholic nation expressed concern about the increase in the number of deaths.
“We knock on the consciences of those who kill even the helpless, especially those who cover their faces with bonnets, to stop wasting human lives,” Manila Cardinal Luis Tagle said in a statement read in Sunday Masses in the capital.
“The illegal drug problem should not be reduced to a political or criminal issue. It is a humanitarian concern that affects all of us.”
Duterte, 72, launched an unprecedented crackdown on illegal narcotics after winning the presidency last year on a promise to kill tens of thousands of criminals.
Philippine narcotics police accused of killing teenager after giving him a gun, telling him to shoot and then run
The Catholic Church, one of the nation’s oldest and most influential institutions, had been among the few voices denouncing the deaths as polls showed Duterte continued to enjoy widespread popularity.
During the 14 months Duterte has been in power, police have confirmed killing more than 3,500 people – insisting they acted in self-defence.
More than 2,000 other people have been killed in drug-related crimes and thousands more murdered in unexplained circumstances, according to police data.
The numbers saw a sudden increase this week, with Duterte praising officers who shot dead 32 people in a single province as he urged for more.
Following Duterte’s call, at least 44 people were killed in various cities, including a 17-year-old boy whose death on Thursday sparked a national furore.
Relatives of Kian Delos Santos released CCTV footage of the boy being dragged away by two officers as they questioned a police report that he shot at them first.

In Sunday’s statement, Tagle called for nine days of prayer for people who have died in the drug war.
“Those with sorrowful hearts and awakened consciences may come to your pastors to tell your stories and we will document them for the wider society,” he said.
The Catholic Church has been a central figure in some of the Philippines’ most tumultuous political events, including the 1986 “People Power” revolution that overthrew dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
The church had initially declined to criticise Duterte’s drug war but as the death toll of mostly poor people mounted, it began last year a campaign to stop the killings.
Church groups have sheltered witnesses and provided financial and emotional support for families of those slain.
Deadly drugs crackdown continues for third night in Philippines, as death toll reaches 80 in one week
In response, Duterte had launched a broadside against priests and bishops whom he accused of “hypocrisy”.
On Sunday, the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines joined Tagle in denouncing the deaths, calling on the faithful to ring church bells daily in solidarity with the victims.
“The sound of the bells is a wake-up call for a nation that no longer knows how to condole with the bereaved, that is cowardly to call out evil. The sound of the bells is a call to stop consenting to the killings!” Archbishop Socrates Villegas said in a statement.
Duterte’s spokesman said on Saturday the government would investigate the deaths but added the president would “vigorously pursue” his drug war.


Philippine Catholic Church head urges end to drug killings after week of bloodshed

Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle (left) arrives for a meeting at the Synod Hall in the Vatican in 2013. Photo: Reuters

ATTENTION EDITORS - VISUAL COVERAGE OF SCENES OF INJURY OR DEATH The body of a man, who police said was killed in a spate of drug related violence, is silhouetted near a police car and police investigators in Manila, Philippines August 16, 2017. Picture taken August 16, 2017. REUTERS/Dondi Tawatao TEMPLATE OUT

Philippine Church in ‘show of force’ vs drug killings

Thousands of Catholic faithful gathered in a dawn rally in a ‘show of force’ against alleged extrajudicial killings in Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war in Manila. Photo: AFP

Thousands of Catholic faithful gathered in a dawn rally in a "show of force" against alleged extrajudicial killings in Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war in Manila on February 18, 2017. More than 6,000 people have died seven months after Duterte ordered an unprecedented crime war that has drawn global criticism but enjoys popularity in the mainly Catholic nation. / AFP PHOTO / NOEL CELIS

Archbishop of Manila, Luis Antonio Tagle, delivers a message to the participants of the "procession" against plans to reimpose death penalty, promote contraceptives and intensify drug war during "Walk for Life" in Luneta park, metro Manila, Philippines February 18, 2017. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

Philippines government hits back at ‘out of touch’ Catholic Church over drugs war

Reverend F. Carlos Ronquillo gestures as he talks about a pastoral letter from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines about the drug war of President Rodrigo Duterte. Photo: Reuters

Filipino churchgoers hold hands while singing a religious song after Rev. F. Carlos Ronquillo (not in photo), a Rector Superior of the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, talks about a pastoral letter from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) about the drug war of President Rodrigo Duterte during a mass at the Redemptorist church in Paranaque city, metro Manila, Philippines February 5, 2017. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

Filipino churchgoers pray in front of a Jesus Christ crucifixion statue after Rev. F. Carlos Ronquillo (not in photo), a Rector Superior of the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, talked about a pastoral letter from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) about the drug war of President Rodrigo Duterte during a mass at the Redemptorist church in Paranaque city, metro Manila, Philippines February 5, 2017. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Rev. F. Carlos Ronquillo, a Rector Superior of the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help gestures as he talks about a pastoral letter from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) about the drug war of President Rodrigo Duterte during a mass at Redemptorist church in Paranaque city, metro Manila, Philippines February 5, 2017. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

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