The ‘killing spree’ in the illegal drug trade continues.
Two more suspected drug dealers were killed on Tuesday during a joint operation of law enforcers in Quezon City the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group said.
In Taguig City, police arrested six alleged drug traffickers among 10 most wanted men in the city.
In Surigao del Norte, congressman-elect Robert Ace Barbers took up the cudgels for the police by saying that the killings of 68 suspected drug traders from January to June 2016 was a result of legitimate encounters between law enforcers and criminals.
Barbers, a three-term lawmaker in the House, said policemen who were responsible for the recent spate of killings of drug pushers must be commended instead of being criticized.
But the killings also prompted the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines to issue a five-point guide on the morality of killings of suspects in a law enforcer’s line of duty.
Acknowledging that the CBCP statement was a “valid general statement,” outgoing House deputy majority leader and Citizens Battle Against Corruption party-list Rep. Sherwin Tugna said the CBCP should also be concerned about the lives of arresting authorities are also in danger.
In the Quezon City incident, the suspects were on board their vehicle when they fired at the police and tried to escape, said CIDG director Victor Deona.
This prompted the other deployed police teams to chase the suspects until they were cornered along NIA Road. Instead of surrendering, the suspects opted to exchange gunfire with the authorities that resulted in their sustaining of gunshot wounds,” said Sr. Supt. Ronald Lee, CIDG-NCR chief. The suspects were rushed to the East Avenue Medical Center but were declared dead on arrival by the attending physician.
Lee said three plastic bags containing suspected shabu weighing 3 kilos, two calibre .45 cal. several cellular phones, and a Toyota sedan used by the suspects were recovered from the crime scene. With Maricel Cruz and Joel Zurbano
