“License to Kill”

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The body of Edwin Mendoza lies covered with cardboard boxes after he was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in front of a convenience store on Airport Road, Paranaque, Metro Manila. A sachet of shabu was allegedly found at the crime scene, October 18, 2016. 14 “LICENSE TO KILL”
Six masked armed men burst into a Manila home where a small group, including several teenagers, were watching television. The men arrested and beat drug suspects Aljon Mesa and Jimboy Bolasa, and then took them away on motorcycles. A half hour later, after hearing from a uniformed policeman, relatives rushed to a nearby bridge to find Aljon and Bolasa’s bodies, both with gunshot wounds to the head, their hands tied with cloth. The gunmen were still at the scene, while uniformed police cordoned off the area. The police report, headed “Found Bodies,” claims that a “concerned citizen” alerted the police to the presence of two dead bodies. A week after Aljon Mesa’s killing, 10 police officers, some in civilian clothes, arrested his brother Danilo Mesa and took him to the local barangay office. That evening masked armed men abducted him from the barangay office; shortly afterwards, his body was found under a bridge a block away. His relatives said that his entire head had been wrapped in packing tape, and his hands had been tied behind his back. He had been shot execution-style through the mouth. Whether or not the unidentified assailants doing the actual killing were police officers or agents of the police, the similar tactics used in the cases documented by Human Rights Watch showed planning and coordination by the police and in some cases local civilian officials. These killings were not carried out by “rogue” officers or by “vigilantes” operating separately from the authorities. Our research indicates that police involvement in the killings of drug suspects extends far beyond the officially acknowledged cases of police killings in “buy-bust” operations. Furthermore, the government’s failure to arrest—let alone prosecute—a single police officer for their role in any of the “war-on-drugs” killings that Duterte has encouraged sends a message that those involved need not fear being held to account, and that future killings can be carried out with impunity. HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | MARCH 2017 15
Page 1: H U M A N R I G H T S W A T C H “
Page 4 and 5: Copyright © 2017 Human Rights Watc
Page 6 and 7: Norberto Maderal, George Avanceña,
Page 9: SUMMARY HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | MARCH
Page 12 and 13: On the afternoon of October 14, 201
Page 14 and 15: Jayson Asuncion, 37, surrendered to
Page 16 and 17: A barangay official told Rogie Seba
Page 18: A family picture with the coffin of
Page 21: Human Rights Watch examined the pol
Page 25 and 26: Relatives of Edward Sentorias, 34,
Page 28 and 29: and his top subordinates have denie
Page 31 and 32: “Hitler massacred three million J
Page 33 and 34: Methodology From October 2016 to Ja
Page 35 and 36: eal crime wave unleashed by his own
Page 37 and 38: Duterte was Davao City mayor for mo
Page 39 and 40: sanctioned death squads in cities i
Page 41 and 42: “And if in the process you kill o
Page 43 and 44: The human rights [activists] said I
Page 45 and 46: Adviser Hermogenes Esperon confirme
Page 47 and 48: meant to indicate that police opera
Page 49 and 50: the suspects had been in police cus
Page 51 and 52: uyer was to purchase one (1) piece
Page 53 and 54: Media accounts of the incident said
Page 55 and 56: Approximately 30 minutes after the
Page 57 and 58: no reason to lie about this. That i
Page 59 and 60: Napoleon Miras Ai-Ai, July 24 Baran
Page 61 and 62: [T]he suspect sensed that he was be
Page 63 and 64: Noel Alberto, “Sarah,” Septembe
Page 65 and 66: Antonio’s relatives believe that
Page 67 and 68: cops came on a motorbike. The unifo
Page 69 and 70: locked off the area and told the fa
Page 71 and 72: thereafter, gunshots rang out, and
Page 73 and 74:
Virgilio Mirano, September 27 Baran
Page 75 and 76:
Jury Jana, October 4 Baragay 120, C
Page 77 and 78:
At about 11 p.m. on October 4, Visd
Page 79 and 80:
the police. 218 On October 20, the
Page 81 and 82:
ody. They covered the body with a b
Page 83 and 84:
Heart de Chavez, January 10; “Joa
Page 85 and 86:
killings. The police report states
Page 87 and 88:
III. Prohibition of Extrajudicial E
Page 89 and 90:
Philippine Law The Philippine Const
Page 91 and 92:
y the physical perpetrators needs t
Page 93 and 94:
Unlike war crimes, crimes against h
Page 95 and 96:
If I became president, you all shou
Page 97 and 98:
etter believe me.” 296 Duterte to
Page 99 and 100:
On September 20, Duterte responded
Page 101 and 102:
noted, since Duterte has taken offi
Page 103 and 104:
Promised Immunity to Subordinate Co
Page 105 and 106:
V. International Response to Dutert
Page 107 and 108:
Duterte responded: “Why are you s
Page 109 and 110:
Shortly after the November election
Page 111 and 112:
agree to be together or not, whethe
Page 113 and 114:
Ahead of Duterte’s state visit to
Page 115 and 116:
statement, stating, “Please formu
Page 117 and 118:
suspected drug dealers and drug use
Page 119 and 120:
The International Criminal Court In
Page 121 and 122:
• End the criminalization of the
Page 123 and 124:
To the Department of Health • Enc
Page 125 and 126:
• Consider reviewing the Philippi
Page 127 and 128:
Annex I: Excerpts from Police Repor
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direction of the approaching lawmen
Page 131 and 132:
Napoleon Miras Ai-Ai, alias “Nono
Page 133 and 134:
Garry Catungal, alias “Opay,” o
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“License to Kill”

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