Duterte wants to arm thousands in the Philippines' already deadly war on drugs
President Rodrigo Duterte's latest tactic in his war on drugs involves giving free handguns to 42,000 community leaders.
JESSICA M. GOLDSTEIN JUN 16, 2018, 1:58 PM
President Rodrigo Duterte, whose war on drugs and crime in the Philippines has killed thousands, is reportedly considering a new tactic in his fight: Arming the public.
Duterte wants to distribute guns to “42,000 community leaders, known as “barangay captains,” after consulting with the police and intelligence agency,” as the New York Post reports.
The guns would be free for anyone not involved in illegal drugs; privately purchased handguns would be subsidized. “Duterte has repeatedly said thousands of community officials were involved in the trade, without elaborating.”
From The Post:
Activists and Duterte’s political opponents say the campaign is overwhelmingly targeting users and small-time peddlers in poor communities and accuse police of systematically executing suspects, often based on weak intelligence.
The authorities reject that and say all those killed were drug dealers who put up violent resistance and left police with no choice but to shoot them.
https://thinkprogress.org/f33764a462c7/
= new reply since forum marked as read
Since he’s been doing it for years now and the problem still isn’t solved.
