THE KILLING FIELDS

Duterte's back-street butchers: Bodies pile up as crackdown claims 5,900 lives in five months and president declares 'You want me to stop? Then stop taking drugs'

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs has sent the death toll to 5,927 in the five months he's been in office
Radical leader insists he is not a killer despite the country's streets being littered with bodies in crackdown
He has insisted the operation will continue having previously urged citizens to 'go ahead' and kill drug dealers
Less than half of deaths - 2,086 - are linked to police operations with the rest believed to be vigilante killings

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs has sent the death toll to 5,927 in five months and has said the way to stop the slaughter is to stop taking drugs.

The radical leader insists he is not a killer, despite the country's streets being littered with dead bodies due to his crackdown on illicit drugs.

President Duterte said he is not about to pull the plug on his operation, but would happily allow citizens to enjoy Christmas and New Year in peace if people stopped taking drugs.

A poem, my lamentations about the country, and our people crying out for justice...ASC

A Country, A Race, A Nation
Hosts to heroes long since departed,
Mark the revolutions.
The governments, who left dry tokens
Of their sojourn here
On the pearl of the Orient Seas,
Any broad alarm of the hastening doom
Is lost in the gloom of crimes against its people.

But today, the Country cries out to us, clearly, forcefully,
Come, you may stand upon my
Back and face your distant destiny,
But seek no haven in my shadow.
I will give you no retiring place down here.
You, created only a little lower than
The guardians, have crouched too long in
The bruising darkness,

Have lain too long, Face down in feudal ignorance.
Your minds spelling rancor
Armed for slaughter.
The country cries out today, you may stand on me,
But do not hide behind false constitution.
Across the hall of nations,
A poor people cries for justice,

Come rest here by my side.................ASC

Rain pours onto the body of Romeo Torres Fontanilla, who was gunned down, witnesses said, by two unknown men on a motorbike, in the Pasay district of Manila, Philippines

The basketball court at the Quezon City Jail, which has become a sleeping area, in the Philippines

Police investigators near the body of Michael Araja, 29, who neighbors said was killed by two men riding by on a motorbike, in the Pasay district of Manila, Philippines

The bodies of Frederick Mafe, 48, and Arjay Lumbago, 23, who were riding together on a motorbike when they were killed by a pair on another motorbike, in Quezon City, Philippines

Police investigators hunched over the body of Romeo Torres Fontanilla, who was gunned down, witnesses said, by two unknown men on a motorbike, as it rains in the Pasay district of Manila, Philippines

Jimji, 6, cries out in anguish, saying 'Papa' as workers move the body of her father, Jimboy Bolasa, 25, for burial, in Manila, Philippines

He told the Phil Star: 'They say there have been a lot of killings, executions and extrajudicial killings. You want these to end?

'It's simple. You drug users should stop.

'Stop it and there will be a peaceful New Year and Christmas.'

His national police released figures on Monday stating there had been 5,927 deaths linked to the war on drugs in the Philippines since July 1, according to CNN.

Part of President Duterte's manifesto was to crack down on illegal drugs and he was elected to office in May.

In July, 60,000 Filipino drug addicts surrendered themselves to the government after the President urged citizens to 'go ahead and kill' drug dealers and users.

But the death toll has continued to rise, with 2,086 killed in police operations and 3,841 in extra-judicial or vigilante-style killings.

More than 40,000 suspects have been arrested, but President Duterte has made it clear he would pardon police if they were charged with human rights violations for carrying out his merciless orders.

Duterte has repeatedly denied that police are carrying out extra-judicial killings, which involve victims' faced being taped up, but in September said he would be 'happy to slaughter' three million drug addicts.

Many are thought to have been gunned down by vigilante groups, who are paid in cash for each confirmed kill, with many leaving cards labelled pushers next to bodies to prove the hit.

These groups are a key part in Duterte's pledge to kill 100,000 drug users and dealers and fill Manila Bay with their bodies.

An unidentified body that was found with his head wrapped in packing tape, his hands tied behind his back and a cardboard sign that read, 'A pusher who won't stop will have his life ended,' on a street in Manila, Philippines

Bodies stacked up at a funeral parlor as the families of victims like Danilo Deparine, whose body lay on a metal stretcher on the floor, struggle to pay for burial, in Manila, Philippines

Inmates at a Manila police station watch as drug suspects are processed after their arrests in the Philippines

The funeral of Benjamin Visda, 43, who had left a family birthday celebration to get something from a convenience store when he was snatched off the street and killed, according to relatives, in Manila, Philippines

Four men arrested for possession of drugs cover their faces from the camera in Manila, Philippines

Nellie Diaz hunches over the body of her husband, Crisostomo, a drug user who had surrendered but still ended up dead, in Manila, Philippines

Duterte, 71, won elections in a landslide on a pledge to kill tens of thousands of criminals to fight narco-politics in the Philippines.

Since he took office the crackdown has claimed thousands of lives, but told Phil Star: 'I won't hold back and abandon my job. Somebody has to be sacrificed for it. That's OK with me. It's part of the territory to be disliked.

'I do not offer any excuses or apologies. I will answer God when I face him.'

Some have accused him of crimes against humanity, human rights abuses and mass executions, but Duterte maintains his campaign will transform the country.

'I cannot explain every death in this country,' he added.

But if you tell me to hold back, I cannot because I cannot afford it.

'I cannot now stop the momentum with the four million drug addicts spread all throughout the country.'

People visit the tombs of their loved ones on All Saints Day at the Barangka cemetery in the Marikina area of Manila, Philippines

Relatives overcome with grief at the site where the bodies of Frederick Mafe and Arjay Lumbago lie sprawled in the middle of a street in Manila, Philippines

Funeral parlor workers carry away Edwin Mendoza Alon-Alon, 36, who was shot in the head outside a 7-Eleven store, in the Paranaque area of Manila, Philippines

The blood of Florjohn Cruz, 34, stains the floor in his family's living room, next to an altar displaying images and statues of the Virgin Mary, among other items, in Manila, Philippines

Police at the scene of Ronald Kalau's death, in Manila, Philippines

The busy Tondo neighborhood of Manila, the Philippines where President Rodrigo Duterteís brutal anti-drug campaign rages

Roel Scott, 13, inspects the bloodied spot where his uncle, Joselito Jumaquio, 52, was killed by the police, in Manila, Philippines

Family and friends attend the funeral of Joselito Jumaquio, who was slain by a mob of masked men, in Manila, Philippines

Duterte said he is overwhelmed by the seriousness of the drug problem in the country and has vowed to fight on.

He said the drug industry had infiltrated government, with more than 2,000 officials and local executives involved in the narcotics trade, according to Phil Star.

Despite coming in for criticism, the President is hopeful billionaires would support his campaign, citing the Chinese real estate tycoon Huang Rulun, who helped pay for the rehabilitation facility in Nueva Ecija.

China is ready to give the Philippines weapons to help wage his controversial war on drugs, the Chinese ambassador to Manila said.

More gruesome images have emerged of suspected drug dealers lying dead in the streets of Manila as the Philippine government intensifies its brutal war on narcotics.

Nearly 1,000 people have been killed by police or vigilantes since President Rodrigo Duterte came to power and embarked on a bloody campaign against illegal drugs.

Pictures emerged on Monday of slain drug dealers and users on the streets of Manila, investigators taking photographs of the corpses and placing them into body bags.

A police investigator takes pictures of the corpse of a suspected drug pusher and victim of a vigilante-style execution with his hands tied and head wrapped with tape on a street in Manila

The corpse of a suspected drug pusher lies outside a house after he was shot dead following a police operation at a slum area in Manila

Police investigators find an empty bullet shell next to the corpse of a suspected drug pusher after he was shot dead following an encounter with police

Duterte has publicly named hundreds of politicians, military and police personnel, and other influential people allegedly involved in the drug trade and has ordered them to surrender or be hunted down.

The president won a landslide election victory in May, a victory that was largely based on a pledge to kill tens of thousands of criminals.

'These sons of w****s are destroying our children. I warn you, don't go into that, even if you're a policeman, because I will really kill you,' the president told an audience during a speech in Manila.

He vowed on one occasion during the election campaign that 100,000 people would die, and so many bodies would be dumped in Manila Bay that the fish there would grow fat from feeding on them, according to the South China Morning Post.

The latest images emerge after a man was pictured lying bloodied and motionless on the streets of Manila after he reportedly fought back during a drug bust operation. It is thought he died at the scene.

Nearly 1,000 people have been killed by police or vigilantes since President Rodrigo Duterte came to power and embarked on a bloody campaign against illegal drugs

Workers from a funeral parlour load into an ambulance a corpse collected from the Paranaque city jail, where a grenade blast killed 10 inmates, 8 of whom were awaiting trial for drug-related cases

Duterte has made it clear he would pardon police if they were charged with human rights violations

Graphic images show a suspected drug dealer lying dead in the streets of Philippine capital Manila after he resisted arrest

President Duterte has made it clear he would pardon police if they were charged with human rights violations for carrying out his merciless orders.

The continuing bloodshed in the Philippines has begun to inflame diplomatic tensions, with the US embassy warning the Duterte government military aid allotted to the country was tied to adherence to the rule of law, due process and respect for human rights.

'We are concerned by reports regarding extrajudicial killings of individuals suspected to have been involved in drug activity in the Philippines,' the embassy said.

'We strongly urge the Philippines to ensure its law enforcement efforts are consistent with its human rights obligations,' the embassy added.

A man lying bloodied and motionless on the streets of Manila after he reportedly fought back during a drug bust operation

Mr Duterte said he would pardon police if they were charged with human rights violations for carrying out his orders

Two women cry in grief after armed assailants in a motorcycle shot their loved one in a main thoroughfare on July 23, in Manila

A Philippine foreign department statement said that Manila was focused on the eradication of drugs in society.

'Nevertheless, while pursuing this objective, the Philippine government is committed to the rule of law, and the protection of human rights for all.

'We do not condone any unlawful killings and Philippine authorities have been instructed to immediately look into these incidents and bring the perpetrators to justice.'

One of the nation's top human rights lawyers, Jose Manuel Diokno, warned that Duterte had 'spawned a nuclear explosion of violence that is spiralling out of control and creating a nation without judges'.

A crime scene shows where an alleged drug dealer was killed last month. Philippine police said they had killed 550 drug suspects while arresting nearly 8,000 others since the May election