Philippine mayor among 10 killed in drug shootout

Philippine mayor among 10 killed in drug shootout


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Police inspect the contents of the vehicles following an operation on Friday at Makilala township, North Cotabato province in southern Philippines. Philippine police say Mayor Samsudin Dimaukom of southern Datu Saudi Ampatuan township and nine others were killed before dawn in a gunbattle with anti-narcotics officers in one of the deadliest operations since President Rodrigo Duterte launched a crackdown on illegal drugs

MANILA - A mayor on Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's wanted list for alleged drugs links was killed along with nine of his guards in a shootout on Friday, police said, as a new phase of a bloody narcotics crackdown zeroed in on high-profile targets.

The 10 men succumbed to their wounds en route to hospital, police said, having opened fire on officers who tried to stop their two vehicles at a checkpoint in Mr Duterte's troubled home province of Mindanao before dawn.

"It was a legitimate police operation," said Bernard Tayong of the North Cotabato police office, adding that no officers were hurt but a police vehicle was riddled with bullets.

"We have information the mayor and his men were transporting drugs so we tried to intercept them but they chose to shoot it out," he told reporters.

The killing of Samsudin Dimaukom, a powerful mayor, took place far from his predominantly Muslim town of Datu Saudi Ampatuan.

It came as police shift tactics in the controversial war on drugs by focusing on politicians, government officials, celebrities and high-ranking army and police suspected of involvement in the trade.

The new plan, called "Project Double Barrel Alpha", was reported exclusively by Reuters on Monday and aims to increase arrests and reduce the bloodshed in a campaign that has claimed more than 2,300 lives since Mr Duterte took office on June 30.

Mr Duterte won a May election on the promises of killing criminals and campaigned under the logo of a clenched fist.

Mr Duterte returned from a visit to Japan late on Thursday and during a news conference waved a thick book he said contained names of officials suspected of drug links. The book contains about 3,000 names.

"I do not want to make this public because it will just make the Filipino cry," he said.

Of those killed in the anti-drugs campaign, more than 1,600 died during police operations, a toll that has drawn international concern about extrajudicial killings.

Shifting focus

Mr Duterte has fiercely defended the campaign and has repeatedly lashed out at his critics.

A recent poll showed public unease over the crackdown, with 94% of respondents saying it was important that police take suspects alive.

Police investigators said seven guns, including an Armalite rifle and 13 small packs of suspected methamphetamines were recovered from the mayor's vehicle after Friday's firefight.

The mayor's wife, who is also the town's vice mayor, is also on Mr Duterte's wanted list.

National police spokesman Dionardo Carlos told Reuters on Thursday the drugs war had been expanded to go beyond poorer areas where low-level peddlers operate.

New targets were transport networks, show business circles, nightclubs and wealthier neighbourhoods to root out drugs like cocaine and ecstasy.

Mr Carlos denied there was a deliberate sanctioning of extrajudicial killings. He said fatalities occurred when suspects refused to surrender and police were keen to avoid violence.

"That's why we are shifting to Alpha," he added.

Since late June, 750,000 drug users had surrendered, some 30,000 suspects were arrested. Of the "high-value" targets, 201 had surrendered, 66 were arrested and 14 were killed.

He said 150,000 police had been drug-tested and 164 gave positive results and would be dismissed.

Police would soon receive a large consignment of body armour, Mr Carlos said, adding instructions were being given "to make sure you are not giving (drug suspects) the chance to put your lives in danger"

Philippine mayor among 10 killed in drug shootout | Bangkok Post: news

That book must have many leaving in there droves.

lets hope he gets all there bank accounts froze.

Another Way To 'retire' In Paradise

This guy was basically a tribal Muslim warlord from a historically violent area. Warring factions shoot it out all the time. Drugs abound and there are more guns than in your local Walmart. If cops go in in this area, they go in heavy.

It will be interesting to watch what morphs from this hardline crackdown.

History suggests drug prohibition does very little to reduce the demand for drugs.
When there is demand there will be providers, legal or illegal.

Drug addiction remains fairly constant whether legal or illegal. Portugal is good example of that.

Resources are better spent on a health care level addressing addiction.

The whole get tough on drugs charade, is an act of political expediency.

With the the trillion dollar, American war on drugs failure looming large, these little banana republics should be seeing the handwritting on the wall.

^I tend to agree. It's a difficult topic, and the numbers of shabu (meth) addicts here, especially among the poor, are staggering. Killing them or jailing them isn't going to fix the problem.

Weeding out the undesirables..

If American or Thai history of these hardline crackdown, are indicators, the drug addiction problem will simply get worse.

In the Thailand the opium, cannabis, kratom erradication project, is what begot the meth problem.
The meth problem is even bigger than opium , cannabis, kratom put together.

But the Thai drug enforcement guy is talking making yaba legal. Without any discussion(it seems) of cannabis or kratom, both of which help greatly with the harder core addicts of tobacco, alcohol, opium, meth.

It's all a big political shenanigan, serving the politicals power and the profits of the big pharmacuetical industries.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Davis Knowlton

Killing them or jailing them isn't going to fix the problem.

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Well the dead one's wont be a problem anymore?

Regardless of the law or ethics Taksin gained vast approval for the well documented cull of nickel and dime users, while of course the well connected big fish swim on,from your expert position do you you think he'll take on powerful players?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by thaimeme

Weeding out the undesirables..

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ole Burmese saying

"When the fit hit the Shan!":spin:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by snakeeyes

and has repeatedly lashed out at his critics.

A recent poll showed public unease over the crackdown, with 94% of respondents saying it was important that police take suspects alive.

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Duterte seems to be on his own on a few fronts but seems God has intervened and told him to watch his language.
You gotta weep.

^Haha. Saw that. In direct communication with god now.

My wife's uncle works for the opium eradication program in Lao , they want them to grow spuds as an alternative, he openly admits to me it's going to take a while or never happen, ya da is the thing they should be focusing on, it's cheaper than a beer Lao

Duterte on drug-related deaths: Expect 20,000 or 30,000 more

MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday evening said the Philippines could expect about 20,000 or 30,000 more deaths in his administration's bloody war on drugs.
Duterte said the number of casualties will triple if he fails to get rid the country of the drug problem.
"I tell you, I will triple it. 'Pag hindi nasunod ang gusto ko, to get rid of my country (of the drug problem), you can expect 20,000 or 30,000 more (deaths)," Duterte said in Davao City after his return from an official visit to Japan.
Duterte, during his campaign for the presidency, said 100,000 people would die when he launches his war on crime.
The ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group has monitored 2,210 killings in the war on drugs from May 10 to October 27, 2016.
Killed during police operations: 1,268 (57.4%)
Killed by unidentified assailants: 782 (35.4%)
Bodies found away from the crime scene: 160 (7.2%)
Seven people die on average daily due to police operations, while 13 on average die every day in all drug-related killings, according to the data.
READ: War on Drugs: The Unheard Voices
While the crime rate has been dropping for several years, the murder rate has risen under the Duterte presidency, according to official Philippine National Police (PNP) data.
In the first three months of his administration, police recorded a total of 3,760 murders, compared with 2,359 in the same period last year -- a rise of 59 percent.
In what seemed to be a justification for the death of drug suspects, Duterte also said he is losing policemen to the war on drugs.
"There is a war going on. I am losing two to three policeman a day. It's a war," Duterte said.
However, Duterte's claim that two or three policemen were dying every day in his battle to rid the country of illegal drugs had been refuted by PNP data.
According to statistics from the PNP, from July 1, when Duterte launched his campaign against drugs, to October 12, when he spoke in Manila, 13 police officers were killed. That's an average of one every eight days.
READ: 2 dead cops daily and other 'dubious' data in Du30's war on drugs
Duterte bares new 'narco-list'
Duterte was in high spirits as he presented to journalist anew a "narco list" that included personalities allegedly connected to the illegal drug trade.
Duterte showed, without going into details, the list that was several inches thick.
"If this is not controlled, and I am no longer around, try to remember me because you read this. This will convert our country's narco-politics very thoroughly," he said.
Duterte also claimed anew that there were at least 3 million drug users in the Philippines.
"Whatever happened to your humanity? Di mo na lang inisip 'yang 3 million na yan, masisira lahat. You know, it will destroy my country, that's why I kill you," he said.
But according to a 2015 survey by the Office of the President's Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB), the main drug policy and research unit, the Philippines has fewer than half that many drug users. - with a report from Reuters

Duterte on drug-related deaths: Expect 20,000 or 30,000 more | ABS-CBN News