PRESIDENTIAL candidate Sen. Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao vowed to launch an investigation into the hundreds of killings during the Duterte administration’s relentless war on drugs.
The Promdi standard-bearer said he will continue the anti-drug campaign but will focus on “killing drug suppliers.”
“Iimbestigahan natin ang sinasabing EJKs (extrajudicial killings). Iimbestigahan natin ng mabuti. Hindi tayo basta-basta magbibigay ng conclusion (We will investigate the alleged EJKs. We will investigate carefully. We will not rush into a conclusion),” Pacquiao said during the second round of presidential debates on Sunday organized by the Commission on Elections.
He said he will not spare members of the police from punishment who violate human rights while conducting the drug war.
“But let us also remember that we cannot stop this war on drugs because the number of illegal drugs being caught in the country is increasing,” he said.
He noted the recent string of seizures of large volumes of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu is a sign that drug suppliers are aware that President Rodrigo Duterte is about to end his term.
Another presidential aspirant, Dr. Jose “Joey” Montemayor Jr., said there is no need for an investigation to affirm that EJKs have been committed by the government because the killings have been happening since the time of the late president Ferdinand Marcos.
Montemayor said police officers will willingly admit to committing the killing once President Duterte steps down.
He said “so many families are crying because their relatives were killed. May due process pa ngayon? Wala na (Is there still due process? None.) The government is committing human rights violations right and left,” he said.
