President continues controversial declarations telling officers they are free to kill anyone who is violent while being detainedRodrigo Duterte has told Philippines police they are allowed to kill “idiots” who violently resist arrest, two days after hundreds of people turned the funeral of a dead teenager into a protest against the president’s deadly war on drugs. Duterte added that “murder and homicide and unlawful killings” were not allowed and that police had to uphold the rule of law while carrying out their duties. Duterte unleashed the anti-drugs war after taking office in June last year following an election campaign in which he vowed to use deadly force to wipe out crime and drugs. Thousands of people have been killed and the violence has been criticised by much of the international community. Domestic opposition has been largely muted but the killing of schoolboy Kian Loyd delos Santos by anti-drugs officers on 16 August has sparked rare public outrage.

Source: The Guardian August 28, 2017 06:22 UTC