Drug lords killed, injured in Philippine jail
- Posted 28 Sep 2016 20:28
- Updated 28 Sep 2016 20:30
MANILA: A man accused by Philippine President Rodrigo
Duterte of being the nation's top drug trafficker was injured and a gang
member killed during jailhouse knife attacks on Wednesday (Sep 28),
authorities said.
Two other high-profile inmates were injured in the violence at Manila's notorious Bilibid National Penitentiary, from where Duterte has said much of the nation's illegal drug trade is run.
"It appears there was a knife fight," Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre said.
Duterte won the presidential election in a landslide in May after promising to kill 100,000 criminals as part of a campaign against illegal drugs.
More than 3,700 people have been killed in the less than three months he has been in office, prompting widespread criticism from Western governments and rights groups about a breakdown in the rule of law.
Duterte has railed against the criticism, vowing to do what is necessary to stop the Philippines from becoming a narco state.
He had targeted Bilibid prison as one of the hotspots for the drug trade and accused Peter Co, one of the men injured on Wednesday, as being the biggest drug trafficker.
On July 8 Duterte said Co ran a drug empire from inside his prison cell, supplying Manila and the main island of Luzon, with the help of corrupt officials in the previous government.
"So my appeal to them is, since they are beyond redemption, they can stop and commit suicide, because I will not allow these idiots to run their show. Not during my watch," Duterte told reporters.
Prison officials said the six men involved in Wednesday's violence were all top gang leaders who attacked each other at a maximum security wing of the jail, where they had been segregated as a security measure.
They did not explain how the weapons got into the jail.
The man killed was Tony Co, no relation to Peter Co but a member of the same prison gang and also a convicted drug trafficker.
Senator Leila de Lima, one of Duterte's most outspoken critics over the killings in the war on crime, accused the government of organising the knife attacks.
"It makes this government an assassin state," de Lima told reporters.
Both Duterte and Aguirre denied de Lima's allegation.
Duterte has in turn accused de Lima of being involved in the prison drug trade when she was justice secretary in the previous government, allegations she denies.
Two other high-profile inmates were injured in the violence at Manila's notorious Bilibid National Penitentiary, from where Duterte has said much of the nation's illegal drug trade is run.
"It appears there was a knife fight," Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre said.
Duterte won the presidential election in a landslide in May after promising to kill 100,000 criminals as part of a campaign against illegal drugs.
More than 3,700 people have been killed in the less than three months he has been in office, prompting widespread criticism from Western governments and rights groups about a breakdown in the rule of law.
Duterte has railed against the criticism, vowing to do what is necessary to stop the Philippines from becoming a narco state.
He had targeted Bilibid prison as one of the hotspots for the drug trade and accused Peter Co, one of the men injured on Wednesday, as being the biggest drug trafficker.
On July 8 Duterte said Co ran a drug empire from inside his prison cell, supplying Manila and the main island of Luzon, with the help of corrupt officials in the previous government.
"So my appeal to them is, since they are beyond redemption, they can stop and commit suicide, because I will not allow these idiots to run their show. Not during my watch," Duterte told reporters.
Prison officials said the six men involved in Wednesday's violence were all top gang leaders who attacked each other at a maximum security wing of the jail, where they had been segregated as a security measure.
They did not explain how the weapons got into the jail.
The man killed was Tony Co, no relation to Peter Co but a member of the same prison gang and also a convicted drug trafficker.
Senator Leila de Lima, one of Duterte's most outspoken critics over the killings in the war on crime, accused the government of organising the knife attacks.
"It makes this government an assassin state," de Lima told reporters.
Both Duterte and Aguirre denied de Lima's allegation.
Duterte has in turn accused de Lima of being involved in the prison drug trade when she was justice secretary in the previous government, allegations she denies.
- AFP/hs
(source:http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/drug-lords-killed-injured-in-philippine-jail/3163508.html)
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