It’s a damning indictment of the war on drugs being waged in the Philippines,<br /><br /> Amnesty International says the widespread killings of alleged offenders by police and others are a “flagrant violation of international human rights law” and may constitute “crimes against humanity”.<br /><br /> The group’s report on the crackdown was presented in Manila on Wednesday.<br /><br /> Philippine Campaign Officer Wilnor Papa said there are financial incentives for police, with one senior officer revealing that for every person killed in a raid, the equivalent of up to 280 euros could be paid.<br /><br /> There are also claims of a racket between the police and some funeral homes, with payments for each body brought in.<br /><br /> Amnesty says the wave of drugs-related killings since President Rodrigo Duterte came to power last year appeared “systematic, planned and organised”. <br /><br /> Duterte said in November that he would continue with the war on drugs “until the last pusher drops dead”.<br /><br /> Philippines’ police has been planting evidence in the homes of people they killed as part of a murderous war on the poor. pic.twitter.com/8Lm3mje8F5— AmnestyInternational (@amnesty) 30 janvier 2017<br /><br /> “The Duterte administration’s relentless pressure on the police to deliver results in anti-drug operations has helped encourage these abusive practices,” the report said.<br /><br /> Responding to the findings, presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella defended the Philippine National Police (PNP), saying that no extra-judicial killings were state-sponsored and investigations by Senate committees had proved that.<br /><br /> On Monday, in efforts to tackle corruption in the force, police said the war on drugs was being suspended.<br /><br /> Duterte made the decision after a security meeting triggered by the kidnap and killing of a South Korean businessmen by drugs squad police. He said the incident, which took place at the national police headquarters, had embarrassed the country and tarnished the image of the police.<br /><br /> Philippines leader Rodrigo Duterte suspends ‘war on drugs’ so he can hunt down corrupt police officers insteadhttps://t.co/RTS4mJFLEv— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) 30 janvier 2017<br /><br /> with Reuters<br />
