It comes after some of the
bloodiest violence yet seen in the Philippines' war on drugs.
The son of Philippine
strongman Rodrigo Duterte has denied any involvement with a seized Chinese
shipment of 1,300 pounds of crystal meth, worth roughly $125 million.
Paolo Duterte has been accused
by opponents of helping to facilitate the entry of the massive shipment into the
port of Manila, along with his brother-in-law Manases Carpio. According to Bloomberg
Politics, a broker who handled the shipment claimed the smugglers had links
with the two men.
Philippine authorities filed
charges against the broker, Mark Taguba, in July. At a hearing at the House of
Representatives on August 7 he said that he paid one million pesos a week to a
group in Davao in the south of the country, where Paolo Duterte is a vice
mayor.
He added that while he never
met with Duterte or Carpio directly, their names were often mentioned and
protection money was accepted on their behalf.
Both men strongly deny the
claims. Carpio, who is married to the President’s daughter Sarah, said that he
and his brother-in-law “have been publicly crucified based on rumors and
gossip.”
“Both gentlemen are willing
and ready to face malicious allegations intended to impugn on their character
and credibility,” a spokesman for Rodrigo Duterte said. “The president has said
in numerous occasions that he would not interfere.”
Senator Antonio Trillanes, who
has been a staunch critic of the President’s regime, said that his son Paolo
Duterte had a “dragon-like”
tattoo with secret digits on his back, which proved his involvement with
drug smuggling. Paolo Duterte admitted he had the tattoo, but when asked
whether or he’d allow a photo of it to be sent to the DEA for analysis, he said
“no way.”
Since coming to power in June
2016, Rodrigo Duterte has waged a brutal, bloody campaign against drugs that
has left over 9,000 dead. The Philippines President promised a crackdown on
crime during his electoral campaign, and said that he would be “happy
to slaughter” the millions of addicts in his country.
The United Nations, including U.S.
ambassador Nikki Haley, have repeatedly condemned Duterte’s government for
human rights violations. But, in a phone call prior to his inauguration, Donald
Trump praised the “unbelievable job” that Duterte was doing.
“I just wanted to congratulate
you because I am hearing of the unbelievable job on the drug problem,” he said.
“Many countries have the problem, we have a problem, but what a great job you
are doing, and I just wanted to call and tell you that.”
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The past two weeks have been
especially deadly, and over 90 people were killed in one three-day span. The
murder of a 17-year-old high school student has attracted particular outrage. CCTV
footage showed him being frog-marched away by police to be executed,
contradicting claims that police only shoot when fired upon.
Duterte has repeatedly said
he’ll resign if it emerges that members of his family are involved with drug
smuggling or corruption.
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