Dozens of Philippine officials on drug list surrender

By Roy Ramos

ZAMBOANGA CITY, the Philippines

One day after Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte gave more than 150 officials suspected of links to illegal drugs 24 hours to surrender, around 60 politicians and police officers turned themselves in Monday.

Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa told reporters that those who reported to police headquarters came from across the archipelago, including southernmost majority Muslim regions of Mindanao island.

“The list wasn’t formed from hearsay, with people just telling the President that so and so is a political rival or so and so didn’t support him. The President is not shallow,” he was quoted as saying by news website Rappler.

As part of his anti-illegal drug campaign, under which hundreds of suspects have been killed and over half a million others surrendered, Duterte publically read out the list of politicians, judges and security personnel Sunday. He promised to assume full responsibility if anyone was mistakenly included.

Those who surrendered included 31 police officers and 27 local officials.

PNP chief Dela Rosa said Monday that the names had come from an initial list that was put through a validation workshop by the PNP, the armed forces, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the intelligence service.

The state-run Philippines News Agency quoted him saying that in order to validate intelligence on their suspected activities, those who surrendered would undergo documentation and investigation.

He expressed hope that cooperation promised by the officials would contribute to the success of the war on illegal drugs.

Last week, a mayor suspected of involvement in illegal drugs surrendered to authorities after Duterte gave him and his son just 24 hours to turn themselves in or be "shot on sight".

Police later revealed that six people -- including “hitmen” of the “Espinosa drug group” -- were killed in raids at homes connected to Albuera town Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. and his son Kerwin -- who was reportedly abroad, either in Singapore or Malaysia.

Despite growing concerns from local and global organizations, the president has said he does not care about the rising death toll of his administration's campaign against drugs.

According to police figures, more than 400 drug suspects have been killed while nearly 600,000 others have surrendered since July 1 following Duterte’s inauguration.

A Senate resolution has been filed calling for an investigation into the surge in killings of suspected drug dealers and users both by police and unidentified gunmen.

The inquiry was called by Sen. Leila De Lima, a former justice secretary and Commission on Human Rights chair, who once probed Duterte's alleged links to a vigilante death squad in Davao City, where Duterte served 22 years as mayor.

During his first State of the Nation address July 25, Duterte said that the government would not stop until "the last drug lord, the last financier, and the last pusher had surrendered or [been] put behind bars or below the ground".

Duterte, however, has also said he will be "sensitive to the State's obligations to promote, and protect, fulfill the human rights of our citizens, especially the poor, the marginalized and the vulnerable".