MANILA, Philippines - A report by Amnesty International revealed that police officers are allegedly paid as much as P15,000 for every drug suspect they kill in the government’s war against illegal drug.
According to human rights group’s report titled "If you are poor you are killed: Extrajudicial Executions in the Philippines' War on Drugs,” financial incentives have driven cops to kill suspected drug personalities. The report released on Wednesday, January 30 came out two days after the Philippine National Police (PNP) were ordered to stop drug operations due to corruption within its ranks.
Tirana Hassan, Director of Amnesty International’s Crisis Response said: “This is not a war on drugs, but a war on the poor. Often on the flimsiest of evidence, people accused of using or selling drugs are being killed for cash in an economy of murder.”
In the said report, an SPO1 officer, who refused to be named and is apparently part of an anti-illegal drug units in Metro Manila, revealed that they receive incentives when they kill. They were secretly paid in cash through their payroll from police headquarters.
The officer said: “We always get paid by the encounter….The amount ranges from ₱8,000 to ₱15,000. That amount is per head. So if the operation is against four people, that's ₱32,000.”
According to the said police officer, they are not paid for arresting so killing is on the top of the cops’ minds during anti-drug operations.
"There's no incentive for arresting. We're not paid anything. It never happens that there's a shootout and no one is killed.”
The report also disclosed that “extrajudicial executions” carried out by police officers and paid killers with police involvement were supposedly organized and planned by high-ranking officials.
More than 7,000 drug-related killings have been recorded by Amnesty International. Meanwhile, the PNP claims it has taken the lives of 2,551 drug suspects and carried out 52,962 arrests from July 1, 2016 to January 30.
--Mini, The Summit Express
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| Photo Credit: GMA News |
Tirana Hassan, Director of Amnesty International’s Crisis Response said: “This is not a war on drugs, but a war on the poor. Often on the flimsiest of evidence, people accused of using or selling drugs are being killed for cash in an economy of murder.”
In the said report, an SPO1 officer, who refused to be named and is apparently part of an anti-illegal drug units in Metro Manila, revealed that they receive incentives when they kill. They were secretly paid in cash through their payroll from police headquarters.
The officer said: “We always get paid by the encounter….The amount ranges from ₱8,000 to ₱15,000. That amount is per head. So if the operation is against four people, that's ₱32,000.”
According to the said police officer, they are not paid for arresting so killing is on the top of the cops’ minds during anti-drug operations.
"There's no incentive for arresting. We're not paid anything. It never happens that there's a shootout and no one is killed.”
The report also disclosed that “extrajudicial executions” carried out by police officers and paid killers with police involvement were supposedly organized and planned by high-ranking officials.
More than 7,000 drug-related killings have been recorded by Amnesty International. Meanwhile, the PNP claims it has taken the lives of 2,551 drug suspects and carried out 52,962 arrests from July 1, 2016 to January 30.
--Mini, The Summit Express
