eng - World Organisation Against Torture

intensive campaign against the arbitrarykillings of street children by the Davao DeathSquads, they reappeared after RodrigoDuterte, who had campaigned on a stronganti-crime and anti-drugs platform, won themayoralty race in Davao City. Since his election,Mayor Duterte has constantly warnedsuspected drug dealers and petty criminalsto leave his city or face his wrath.According to the press, the police namedmost of the victims as suspected criminals ordrug dealers, while no proof of any crime hasbeen advanced nor any of the alleged convictionsverified. Several of the reports indicatedthe ages of the victims, many ofwhom were children and youth. The majorityappear to be street dwellers. 12It appears from the media reports that thekillings are not random attacks carried outby amateurs. The nature of the killings havelead NGOs to believe that they and their perpetratorsare well organised and well funded.All of the killings appear to be carried out onthe streets during broad daylight by armedmen on unmarked motorcycles. Generally,there are two gunmen, usually wearing eitherblack clothing or military fatigues, on eachmotorcycle. While no witnesses have eversurfaced out of fear, investigations and13interviews with people witnessing the attacks,as well as newspaper accounts confirmthat the assailants are organised and wellinformed about their targets. In most incidents,responding policemen are late to arriveat the crime scene where victim(s) areshot. 13PREDA suspects that the renewed killingspree is an official policy aimed to curb streetcrime in order to garner support from localbusiness people. In October 2001, theRegion XI Commission on Human Rights’Director linked the increase of incidents ofsummary executions to a bounty systemcatered by wealthy patrons. He also pointedout that it was close to impossible for the policeand military not to know the identitiesof the members of these groups given thehuge budget allocated to intelligence work.12 - A human rights defender, Rashid Manahan, was killed inbroad daylight 24 August 2004 in front of Ponce Suites,Bajada, Davao City. Manahan was with Prof. NymiaSimbulan, Executive Director of Philrights and Ms. MarthaAlvarez, a representative of the European Union. The threewere to attend a forum against the death penalty and salvagingat UP Mindanao.http://www.preda.org/archives/2004/r04082601.html13 - A few months ago an independent investigating body composedof members of FIND (Families of Victims ofInvoluntary Disappearance) and the Commission on HumanRights discovered a killing field in Barangay Maa, DavaoCity where they found pieces of long bones, skulls and otherremains scattered in an eroded portion of the place.Forensic analysis revealed that the skeletal remains belongto at least six persons, including a female child and that thekillings most probably happened in the last six months tothree years. Some of the skeletal remains were also foundto have torture marks.