Manila, Philippines, Oct 20, 2016 / 23:02 pm
Amid President Rodrigo Duterte's fierce war against the underworld of drugs in the Philippines, the country's bishops are rallying with a pastoral appeal to end unjust violence while encouraging efforts to maintain law and order.
"We are disturbed by an increasing number of reports of suspected drug-peddlers, pushers and others about whom reports of criminal activity have been received, have been shot, supposedly because they resist arrest," stated a recent press release from the Bishops Conference of the Philippines.
"It is equally disturbing that vigilantism seems to be on the rise," the bishops continued, noting the increasing number of murders portrayed in the media.
Since his election in May, President Duterte has handed out death sentences to drug dealers in an effort to end the illegal drug culture in the Philippines. Although over 600,000 dealers have already turned themselves in since the campaign, these efforts have also resulted in police brutality on the streets of Manila.