Rape-murder of infant boy bolsters war on drugs—Duterte

President Rodrigo Duterte was “extremely outraged” over the gruesome rape and murder of a one-year-old infant boy in Makati City, Malacañang said Thursday, as it ordered the police to bring justice to the families.

In a statement, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said the Palace condemns in the strongest terms the barbaric rape and murder of the poor infant in Makati.

“The tragic news has reached the attention of the President and he, like all Filipinos, has been extremely outraged by this heinous criminal act,” Panelo said.

The Palace spokesman then commended the Philippine National Police for the immediate arrest of Gerald Reparip, the 28-year-old suspect, who admitted to the grisly crime.

Earlier, Malacañang said the case will strengthen the administration’s war on drugs once it is proven that the crime was committed by someone under the influence of illegal drugs. 

In other developments:

• The Presidential Communications Operations Office on Thursday released for the first time the government figures on arrested high-value targets under the Philippines’ campaign against illegal drugs.

From July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2019, PCOO Assistant Secretary Marie Rafael said, law enforcers nabbed some 7,054 high-value targets.

• A total of 5,526 drug users and pushers had been killed since the Duterte administration started its war on drugs on July 1, 2016 up to June 30.

According to data from #RealNumbersPH, the government’s official casualty count in relation to the war on drugs showed the number of people killed as of June 30 had increased by 151 as compared to the March 2019 figure of 5,375.

In addition, there were 193,086 people arrested in 134,583 anti-illegal drug operations in the same period.

Panelo said the boy’s death showed a “positive demonstration” on the activities committed by those involved in illegal drugs.

Incidents like this, according to Panelo, show why the President remains “focused” on preventing from happening. 

“That’s a positive demonstration of the acts of those who are part of drug syndicates, that’s why the President is focused on that,’’ Panelo told reporters. 

“That will happen in our country and it will continue until you end the [drug] syndicates. That’s what the President has been saying.’’

Asked what the President intended to do following the incident, Panelo said: “Of course, we will investigate that and we will intensify [the war on drugs] once we know that it was done again by those in the [illegal] drug [industry].” 

On Wednesday, the one-year-old male infant was found dead lying on the 7th floor of an abandoned building along Yakal Street in San Antonio village.

Reparip admitted he choked the victim. 

“If I was able to do that, I am sorry. I was just drunk,’’ Reparip told reporters. Asked what he specifically did to the infant, the suspect said: ‘‘raped him.’’

While Reparip bared intoxication urged him to commit the crime, he denied being a user of illegal drugs. With Rio N. Araja and PNA