More than 20 years ago, Davao City was turned into the laboratory for its then Mayor

Rodrigo R. Dutertes war against illegal drugs. Now that he is President, Duterte has
mounted a reprise of that war across the nation, saying that he is ready to put his honor,
life, and presidency on the line for it.
This time around, Duterte commands an armed contingent that is a hundred times bigger
than it was in Davao, and his enemy a thousand times more numerous. The
achievements and casualty toll of his war are thus multiple times higher, even if it has
been only 80 days since he was sworn into office.
Last week at the Senate, Edgar Matobato, a confessed hitman for the so-called Davao
Death Squad or DDS, said that on orders on then Davao City Mayor Duterte, the DDS
had killed, tortured, and dumped in unmarked graves up to 1,000 persons in Davao City
from 1993 to 2013. Matobato said a team of the citys police officers and members and
Civilian Security Unit personnel called the Lambada Boys carried out the summary
execution of alleged rapists, kidnappers, snatchers, and drug pushers, and some other
civilians.
Dutertes deputies have denied Matobatos allegations, with Justice Secretary Vitaliano
Aguirre II even calling these old lies. Still, there is no denying that Dutertes reign in
Davao City had been marked by numerous extrajudicial killings, with Davao media
attributing at least 150 deaths there from 1995 to 2001 alone to the DDS and then Mayor
Dutertes war against drugs.
Dutertes expanded war has resulted in a death toll that is 10 times higher within a much
shorter period: an average of 38 persons killed a day, or over 3,200 in the last 80 days.
Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/816776/war-on-drugs-no-eo-signed-by-duterte-achaos-of-numbers#ixzz4KgqqwKni
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