The Philippines police will disband anti-drugs units following the killing of a South Korean businessman by rogue officers, but the country's president vowed on Sunday to forge ahead with his war on drugs until the last day of his term.
President Rodrigo Duterte said he was embarrassed that anti-drugs officers had abused their power to engage in kidnapping, leading to the death by strangulation of Jee Ick-joo, on the grounds of the national police headquarters.
Duterte said other suspects were still at large and gave them 48 hours to turn themselves in, or have a dead-or-alive bounty on their heads of 5 million pesos ($100,000), for which he would prefer them dead.
His police chief, Ronald dela Rosa, said the breakup of anti-drugs units was necessary to rebuild them, but it could disrupt the progress of the campaign.
"We will dissolve all anti-drugs units in the police," he told a joint news conference with Duterte, when asked if he would overhaul the police.
"I will do my job to the best of my ability I hope I will not fail the president and the Filipino people."
More than 7,000 people have been killed since Duterte, nicknamed "the punisher", unleashed his bloody crackdown seven months ago, some 2,250 in police operations and the rest still mostly under investigation.
His six-year term ends in 2022.
Police say many of those so far unsolved could be the work of vigilantes or inter-gang drugs violence.
The campaign has caused alarm in the West and rights groups accuse Duterte of turning a blind eye to a wave of extrajudicial killings by police, mostly of low-level peddlers. Police deny that and say the killings are in self-defence.
Duterte said police who had been subject of internal investigations should be reassigned to work in conflict zones.
Fighting drugs and crime was the key platform of Duterte's election campaign, during which he promised to eradicate illicit drugs within six months.
He said he underestimated the depth of problem, and on Sunday promised the crackdown would continue to the end of his six-year presidency, and criticism would not stop him.
"I do not give a shit, I have a duty to do, and I will do it," he said.
Reuters
Mon Jan 30 2017
Rodrigo Duterte speaks during a late night news conference at the presidential palace in Manila, Philippines January 29, 2017. REUTERS
Isu samun: Terengganu pandang serius kejadian melanda Akhyar Rashid
Akhyar Rashid mengalami kecederaan ringan di bahagian kepala dan kaki, namun beliau dilaporkan berada di dalam keadaan stabil.
Permohonan pembatalan kes rasuah Guan Eng, isteri dan Li Koon ditolak
Permohonan itu membabitkan projek asrama pekerja asing bernilai RM11.6 juta.
WEF: Mendasari geopolitik, mencari keterangkuman
Editor Kanan Niaga AWANI, Najib Aroff membawakan rangkuman Mesyuarat Khas WEF yang berlangsung baru-baru ini di Riyadh, Arab Saudi bersama Pengarah Strategi, KRA Group, Amir Fareed Rahim.
EPL: Mauricio Pochettino pimpin Chelsea benam Spurs
Satu gol pada setiap separuh masa daripada Trevoh Chalobah dan Nicolas Jackson memberikan The Blues kemenangan yang tidak ternilai.
Kadar Fed AS kekal, ekonomi akan mengukuh atau melemah?
Rizab Persekutuan (Fed) AS mengekalkan kadar faedah penanda arasnya tidak berubah. Apakah faktor yang menyumbang kepada keputusan ini dan bagaimana prospek ekonomi serta pasaran dalam tempoh terdekat?
Pelaburan Microsoft: Memperkasa era baharu AI di Malaysia
Microsoft telah mengumumkan komitmen terbesar dalam sejarah 32 tahunnya di negara ini dengan pelaburan berjumlah US$2.2 bilion dalam tempoh empat tahun akan datang untuk menyokong transformasi digital Malaysia. Bagaimana untuk manfaatkan pelaburan ini serta mempekasa era baharu kecerdasan buatan (AI) di Malaysia?
'Pindahkan jasad Maradona ke tempat lebih selamat' - Anak
Anak-anak Maradona fail permintaan kepada mahkamah untuk pindahkan jasad legenda bola sepak dunia itu "ke tempat yang lebih selamat."
KPDN serbu premis jual produk berlabel 'No Palm Oil'
Kesemua produk aiskrim terbabit telah disita untuk siasatan lanjut dengan nilai rampasan berjumlah RM897.60.
FAM penuhi permintaan Pan-gon
Permintaan Kim Pan-gon yang mahu penerbangan sewa khas untuk ke Kyrgyzstan juga telah ditunaikan oleh FAM.
Cuaca panas dunia bakal cecah suhu ekstrem
El Nino akan mendorong kurangnya hujan dan berlakunya episod kemarau yang lebih teruk daripada biasa.