Duterte admits to forming 'death squad', encouraging police killings in Senate testimony

Former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte on Monday revealed that he had formed a “death squad” of gangsters to kill other criminals when he was the mayor of a southern Philippine city.

According to an Aljazeera report, Duterte made the expletive-laden confession before the Senate inquiry on Monday.

He also admitted under oath that during his time as president and as mayor of Davao, he had ordered police to “encourage” suspects of crimes to fight back and “draw their guns” so that the officers can justify the killings, added the report.

According to the report, citing official police records, over 6,000 people died during the contentious anti-drug campaign under his presidency in the Philippines. Human rights groups estimate that as many as 30,000 mostly mostly poor suspects were killed by police and vigilantes, often without evidence linking them to drugs.

These killings are now under investigation by the International Criminal Court for alleged state-sanctioned “crimes against humanity”, added the report.

Duterte has acknowledged, without providing details, that he once oversaw a death squad of seven “gangsters” to address crime during his tenure as mayor of Davao City, prior to becoming president.

“I can make the confession now if you want,” Aljazeera quoted Duterte as saying.

“I had a death squad of seven, but they were not policemen, they were also gangsters,” he added.

“I’ll ask a gangster to kill somebody,” Duterte was quoted as saying. “If you will not kill (that person), I will kill you now,” he added.

Later in the hearing, he also admitted giving instruction to police officers how to handle suspects.

“Let’s be frank. My instruction to the officers was, ‘encourage the criminals to fight, encourage them to draw their guns’. That was my instruction. Encourage them to fight, and when they fight, kill them so the problem in my city is done,” Duterte was quoted as saying.

“I told them, ‘Do that same against (drug) pushers so that there will be one less criminal’,” he added in a mix of Filipino and English, as families of the victims of the anti-drug campaign gathered outside the Senate building to demand Duterte’s prosecution.

The 79-year-old also said that he issued similar directives to police officers when he took office in 2016, serving as president until mid-2022.

He mentioned that Senator Ronald dela Rosa, who was his police chief during both his mayoralty and presidency, could corroborate his instructions, reported Aljazeera.

In his opening statement, Duterte strongly defended his administration, asserting, “Do not question my policies because I offer no apologies, no excuses.”

“I did what I had to do, and whether or not you believe it or not, I did it for my country,” he said to cheers from his supporters present at the Senate hearing.

“I hate drugs, make no mistake about it.”

While Duterte’s crackdown has faced widespread condemnation, only nine police officers have been convicted for falsely framing individuals, including minors, for drug-related offenses.

Investigators are also looking into allegations involving Michael Yang, a Chinese national who served as one of Duterte’s top presidential advisers and has been accused of ties to smuggling, illegal drug trade, and illegal gambling.

In 2017, Duterte’s son, Paolo, and son-in-law, Manases Carpio, were accused of covering up a shipment of $125 million worth of narcotics from China, but both have dismissed the allegations as “baseless.”

Some controversial killings of minors were investigated by Aljazeera in 2017.

The drug war has continued under Duterte’s successor, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who has advocated for a greater focus on prevention and rehabilitation.

With inputs from agencies