The chilling reward and quota system of Rodrigo Duterte's 'war on drugs': Editorial

FILE PHOTO: 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 had died seven months after Duterte ordered an unprecedented crime war that drew global criticism but enjoyed popularity in the mainly Catholic nation. - AFP

MANILA: What made the Duterte administration’s so-called “war on drugs” so lethally effective that it ended up with 6,000 Filipinos dead according to official police records, and perhaps up to 30,000 according to independent human rights watchdogs?

The chief factor, of course, was that it was greenlighted, encouraged and backstopped from the top. Rodrigo Duterte was a public official with decades of experience in government who certainly knew his Constitution and its centrepiece Bill of Rights—but as he himself declared, “I don’t care about human rights.”

Thank you for your report!

34 Philippines nationals from Riyadh to return Monday (Oct 19); more await flights

Philippine President Marcos is expected to summon the Chinese envoy for a veiled ‘threat’

Philippine President Marcos to summon Chinese envoy over ‘threatening’ remarks

资料照片：2017年2月18日，数千名天主教信徒聚集在马尼拉，举行黎明集会，以“力量展示”的方式抗议菲律宾总统罗德里戈·杜特尔特在禁毒战争中涉嫌的法外处决。杜特尔特下令发动这场史无前例的打击犯罪战争七个月后，已有超过6000人丧生。这场战争虽然招致国际社会的批评，但在以天主教徒为主的菲律宾却广受欢迎。——法新社

马尼拉：杜特尔特政府所谓的“禁毒战争”为何如此致命有效，以至于根据官方警方记录，造成 6000 名菲律宾人死亡，而根据独立人权观察组织的说法，死亡人数可能高达 30000 人？

当然，最主要的因素是，这项政策得到了高层的批准、鼓励和支持。罗德里戈·杜特尔特是一位拥有数十年政府经验的公职人员，他当然了解宪法及其核心条款《权利法案》——但他自己却宣称：“我不在乎人权。”

感谢您的报告！

34名菲律宾公民将于周一（10月19日）从利雅得返回；另有更多公民正在等待航班。

菲律宾总统马科斯预计将召见中国特使，发出隐晦的“威胁”。

菲律宾总统马科斯将召见中国特使，就其“威胁性”言论进行质询