Some of the deaths could have been prevented, he said.
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At his Sunday news conference, Duterte attacked those who criticize the extrajudicial killings.of the United States; he demanded to know why police there kill black people while they are on the ground.
Philippine National Police documents on suspected drug traffickers seen by The Associated Press include a list of 14 Chinese nationals, including a woman, with their pictures.
“Our own people are also victims, they are also killed”.
“(The ambassador) said that this is not true and I told him these reports are based on intelligence information, they have been validated so far as we are concerned, so I wanted a clarification from him”, Yasay said.
Eighty bodies have been found with cardboard signs proclaiming them to be drug dealers, he said. Thousands of people also have surrendered. Encouraging police and even citizen vigilantes to kill those suspected of having ties to the drug trade, about 1,800 have lost their lives since Duterte took office on June 30.
Speaking at a senate hearing into the sharp rise in deaths since Duterte became president, the police chief Ronald dela Rosa said that a total of 1,916 deaths had been recorded during the crackdown, 756 of which were during police operations.
“It’s the difference between the police count of police-involved shootings, or shootouts, as they call them, versus vigilantes, death squads, or individual assassins leaving signs saying, ‘I’m a drug dealer, ‘ on the corpse, but no other evidence”, Tree said.
The Chair of the Senate committee Leila De Lima seems to think otherwise.
The war on drugs has widespread support in the country, with Duterte enjoying a 91% approval rating at the end of July, largely on the back of his hard line on drug crime. “(We have) 600,000 (drug addicts)”, he added.
“We can’t deny the possibility that the Philippines will be beguiled by China through the talks”, a Japanese diplomatic source said. “I have to mention your relationship because it was your driver who was in contact with the rest of the guys there inside prison”. Gregorio Honasan, Dela Rosa admitted that his officers “made mistakes”.
Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said the Philippine government is taking action to address “whatever incidents that have serious concern”.
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Durterte, known for his colourful language, has also threatened to withdraw the Philippines from the United Nations, later cushioned by his foreign secretary, disparaged the pope, human rights advocates, and other countries who controvert his worldview.
