Philippines police promise less bloodshed and violence in President Duterte’s drug war with training and body cameras
Five days after the International Criminal Court launched a preliminary examination of the alleged murders, authorities said the number of suspects shot dead by law enforcement personnel had risen to more than 4,000
Philippine police said on Wednesday they have adopted special measures, including body cameras, to reduce violence in anti-narcotics operations as the International Criminal Court investigates allegations of thousands of extrajudicial killings in President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war.
Five days after the ICC launched a preliminary examination of the alleged murders, authorities said the number of suspects shot dead by law enforcement personnel had risen to more than 4,000.
Critics allege the fiery Duterte, who has vowed to kill tens of thousands of criminals to rid Philippine society of drugs, is provoking police to murder suspects through inflammatory statements.
“We are confident that this time, police intensive operations against illegal drugs will be carried out with greater efficiency and with less violent confrontations between law enforcers and offenders,” national police spokesman John Bulalacao said.
While the campaign is not expected to be entirely “bloodless”, the government has adopted certain measures – including more training and body cameras – to minimise bloodshed, Bulalacao told a news conference.
