Under pressure from the Catholic Church as well as international
human-rights activists, President Rodrigo Duterte has taken a step to
curb the extra-judicial killings of suspected drug dealers.
Duterte has broken up special units of the national police force that
had been dedicated to combatting drug traffic, and said that he would
investigate charges of corruption within the police force.
At the same
time, he said that the country’s anti-drug agency would continue the
crackdown, and promised help from the military.
Under Duterte, who came to power promising an aggressive campaign to
stop the drug trade, an estimated 8,000 people have been killed by
vigilante forces.
Units of the national police force are generally
acknowledged to be involved in the killings.
The problem came to a head
when a South Korean businessman, who apparently had no involvement in
drug trafficking, was seized, brought to the headquarters of the
national police force, and killed.