MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Filipino police have killed 26 people suspected of drug trafficking during 18 operations across Manila within last 24 hours, Manila Police District (MPD) spokesman superintendent Erwin Margarejo said on Thursday.
“Twenty-six is just the initial number in my record,” Margarejo said as quoted by the Manila Standard media outlet.
Manila police chief superintendent Joel Napoleon Coronel said that police had killed 25 suspects.
“Out of 1.7 million residents of Manila, some 300,000 of them are into illegal drugs. So far, 24 barangay [administrative division] are now drug-free and we hope to add more and have at least 100 villages drug-free by end of the year,” he said, as quoted by the Manila Times media outlet.
Coronel added that since the start of the war against drugs, 55,000 people have surrendered to police and 6,000 have been arrested.
Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte took office in 2016 on promises to end drug-related crimes in the country. Shortly after being sworn in, Duterte launched a large-scale campaign aimed at fighting drug dealers and traffickers. During the campaign, thousands of people have been killed by police, sparking criticism from the international community and human rights watchdogs.
