'No truth' to claim of cash bonuses for police who kill drug dealers, says Philippine president's office

Philippine President RodrigoDuterte's office rejected allegations on Thursday by two seniorpolice officers in a Reuters report that police received cashrewards for executing drug suspects, while the most high-profilecritic of the president backed the officers' claims.

"There is no truth in the allegation that there is aco-ordinated effort to kill drug suspects," the president'soffice said Thursday in a written reply to questions fromReuters. "The so-called officers interviewed must be livingmovie scenes."

Leila de Lima, who was arrested in February on drug chargesafter leading a Senate probe into Duterte's drug war, said thatthe allegations by the two officers had revealed "the ugly anddisturbing truth of what has become" of the Philippines police.De Lima, who says she is the target of a vendetta, made thecomments in a handwritten note from detention inside nationalpolice headquarters.

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In a Reuters report published on Tuesday, the two officers,who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Philippine NationalPolice (PNP) officers carried out most of the killings they havelong blamed on vigilantes.

"Our reporting was fair and accurate and we stand by it,"said a Reuters spokesperson.

One of the men, a retired intelligence officer, authored anunpublished 26-page report that provides granular detail on thealleged methods deployed in the drug war, as well as thecampaign's masterminds and perpetrators. The report, which saidit is based on the accounts of 17 serving and former officers,does not contain any documentary evidence.

The president's office, which said there was "no suchreport," added that the police were "not in the business ofhiring assassins." It also called on the two officers to maketheir complaints publicly and under oath.

On Wednesday, a Philippine senator called for a probe intothe allegations, while a police spokesman challenged the claimsbut said they would be investigated.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said in a statement that the PNPshould take "drastic measures" to verify the allegations made bythe two police officers, and punish those who have "broken theirvow to protect the Filipino people."

Gatchalian said the integrity of the police was "at stake,"and called on PNP chief Ronald dela Rosa to "unmask the truth."

Horror of the Philippines' drug war

7 years ago

Duration 17:44

Since President Rodrigo Duterte launched a war on drugs last summer, violence has spiralled with more than 7,000 murders, most of them unsolved

Almost 9,000 killed

PNP spokespersonDionardo Carlos said he encouraged the twopolice officers interviewed by Reuters to come forward andpublicly air their allegations. He said claims that cash rewardswere being paid for killing drug suspects were implausible,because police would not have that kind of money at theirdisposal and such acts would be unlawful.

Close to 9,000 people, mostly drug users and small-timedealers, have been killed since Duterte took office almost 10months ago and promised an unrelenting campaign to rid thePhilippines of illicit narcotics.

Police say about a third of the victims were shot byofficers in self-defence during anti-drug operations. Humanrights groups believe many of the remaining two thirds werekilled by paid assassins co-operating with the police or bypolice themselves, disguised as vigilantes. The government andpolice reject that.

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The two officers said that most of the drug-war killings areorchestrated by the police, including those they say are carriedout by vigilantes. Reuters was unable to independently verify ifthe police are behind vigilante killings.

One of the officers, an active-duty police commander, alsosaid that officers plant drugs and guns at the scene of deadlynarcotics busts.

Senator Panfilo Lacson, a former national police chief, saidWednesday in a text message to GMA news, one of the leadingmedia organizations in the Philippines, that unless Reutersidentified the two police officers and they could provide"convincing proof of their allegations," he would dismiss thereport as "gossip."

The report also asserts that Duterte, who released Communistrebels from prison to restart peace talks, has close ties toleftist forces. In response, the president's office said thatthe Communist insurgency in the country was "rooted in poverty,inequality and economic exclusion," and that Duterte "is open todialogue with groups of different political persuasions andideologies, including the Left."