Who is behind spate of brazen politician murders in the Philippines?
Gunmen kill a city vice mayor, less than a week after two mayors were shot dead in separate incidents
Philippine authorities were Sunday investigating the brazen killing of a vice-mayor near Manila, the third deadly attack by gunmen against local officials in less than a week.
The country has a violent, often deadly political culture, but watchdogs are concerned President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war may be emboldening assailants.
However Wilnor Papa, Philippine spokesman for Amnesty International, said that while political violence was not new, “Duterte he has aggravated it through his pronouncements.”
“The Duterte administration is empowering vigilante killings,” he added, citing Duterte’s calls for ordinary citizens to kill drug dealers and his vow to protect officers who get sued while pursuing his drug campaign.