Duterte said the drugs problem was a national security issue. “I will not allow my country to end up a failed state because of drugs,” he said in a speech. Human rights groups say many of those deaths were executions of people suspected of selling or using drugs, which police deny, insisting the killings were in self-defense. Critics, including the Catholic Church, say the campaign has overwhelmingly targeted the urban poor and left drug kingpins largely untouched. Most respondents said it was vital for police to arrest suspects alive and believed police agreed.

Source: bd News24 February 20, 2019 12:45 UTC