Duterte Says He Will Still Kill Criminals, Despite Call for Inquiry<br />The president spoke just weeks after a retired police officer said he would be willing to testify in domestic and international courts<br />that Mr. Duterte had ordered him and other hired hit men to routinely carry out killings when Mr. Duterte was mayor of Davao.<br />" Mr. Sabio said in an interview. that Both Matobato and Lascanas are vital witnesses to prove<br />that the Davao death squad was used by Duterte as a template, or as a strategy or policy, for crime control through extrajudicial killings since he became president,<br />Two men, Arthur Lascanas, a former Davao City police officer, and Edgar Matobato, a self-described hit man, have said they were members of a "death squad" led by Mr. Duterte<br />that targeted petty criminals, drug traffickers and political opponents.<br />" Mr. Banlaoi said. that There is still a general support on the war against drugs,<br />but the opposition is raising the issue of extrajudicial killings as a pretext to challenge the reign of Duterte,<br />By FELIPE VILLAMORMARCH 14, 2017<br />MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines defiantly rebuked human rights groups<br />and international organizations on Tuesday, pledging to continue his deadly antidrug crackdown despite mounting calls for a criminal investigation into his actions.<br />"But now, I have included the military because drugs have become a threat to national security."<br />Last week, Mr. Duterte signed an executive order that revived his antidrug crackdown.
