Rodrigo Duterte was elected president of the Philippines with a large agenda to carry out an openly avowed, brutal agenda because he promised to stamp out criminality within three to six months. The very popular president’s first seven weeks, more than 1900 people have been killed in a crackdown on drug trafficking as the rate of extrajudicial killings has skyrocketed under Duterte’s approval. Only about 800 of those deaths have been confirmed at the hands of police during anti-drug operations with the rest occurring under as yet “unknown circumstances.”
“What’s emerging is a portrait of a leader – and a people – willing to at least temporarily suspend the judicial process – the rule of law and the right to a trial – in favor of a hardline path to greater sense of security.” Filipinos are very weary of the high crime rates in the country and Duterte has 91% of the popular support.
“A lot of people see the killings as a necessary evil in the pursuit of his agenda,” says Anni Piiparinen, a specialist on Southeast Asian security at the Atlantic Council and assistant director of the cyber statecraft initiative there. The crime rate has gone down since Duterte entered office, as it did in Davao City during [Duterte’s] term as mayor. “Many people are willing to make this tradeoff,” she said.
The nation’s police chief, Ronald de la Rosa, insisted in a hearing “that there existed no official policy to kill drug dealers or users… We are not butchers,” he said.
Apparently, vigilantes acting with the tacit approval of police – and in other cases, police themselves – are responsible for many of the unsolved killings. Meanwhile the state sponsored violence has prompted 114,833 people to turn themselves in so far. They are either drug addicts or dealers.
“Forget the laws on human rights,” he said in his last campaign speech. “If I make it to the presidential palace, I will do just what I did as mayor. You drug pushers, hold-up men and do-nothings, you better go out. Because … I’d kill you.”
Drug crimes plummeted 75 percent after Duterte became mayor of Davao City. Muggings and pickpocketing are rare there and leftists are no longer violent. It’s safe to walk at night.
Combined with political corruption, longstanding weariness with crime has helped create a longing among many Filipinos for the sort of strongman figure Duterte represents.
The lawlessness in the Philippines is, no doubt, preparation for what is predicted will happen in the last days when people will take matters into their own hands and try to kill God’s people without due process.
“The heavenly sentinels, faithful to their trust, continue their watch. Though a general decree has fixed the time when commandment keepers may be put to death, their enemies will in some cases anticipate the decree, and before the time specified, will endeavor to take their lives. But none can pass the mighty guardians stationed about every faithful soul. Some are assailed in their flight from the cities and villages; but the swords raised against them break and fall powerless as a straw. Others are defended by angels in the form of men of war.” Great Controversy, page 631.
Comments
Jenny
Thursday September 15th, 2016 at 03:00 AMPraise the Lord for all His light .amen
Joven
Thursday September 15th, 2016 at 09:00 PMMedia has a big part in creating a big picture in people’simagination. They are responsible for propagating truth or lies. I see your article as a transcript from what those “dark side” media has been spreading everr since.They try to mold the minds of the people. If you are a resident of the philippines, you will never end up saying that rule of law has been sacrificed for security? Right now, i’ve been residing in Davao City, the place where Duterte created his mandate for total security and free from corruption. I guess you openly described this as so because you maybe so affected with what the media is depicting. For the truth’s sake, i saw those drug rehabilitated people here in Davao. They are given assistance and livelihood for them to get back on track. People who have surrendered and commited to change their lifestyle were given assitance to reclaim their shattered lives due to drugs. Now, theses people are living in peace with their community, with their children given a bright future. That’ s what the government do to former drug addicts here in Davao and that’s what the President is trying to duplicate for the entire country. What you wrote in your article is only the other side of the coin. But you experience the contour of the situation, you’ll see the truth and it will set you free from lies, exactly what the media is propagating.
On the other hand, the media do not allow the true picture of the Philippines before the law was forcefully implemented by this present administration. The magnitude of crimes commited in the Philippines has skyrocketed. Gang rapes, rapes commited to infants, young children, robbery-hold-ups, mothers killing their young children,etc. They’re all drug related crimes. These were only the “tip of iceberg” crimes as a spree by perpetrators knowing that the law has long been latent and having drug money and so the “influence” from high government officials, who were drug merchants themselves, provide protection to them. How is this so? A news reporter from UK conducted a documentary about the New Bilibid Prison, a supposedly high security prison facility in the Philippines where high-profile convicted criminals were impounded. He saw that prisoners have special treatments, can even manufacture their own drug business, build their own tv station, build a spa, own guns inside the prison cell, gathered millions of drug money, have free mobility in and out of prison- to name a few. And it looks like they created their own government inside the supposedly highly secured penetenciary. As a result, criminals are not afraid to commit heinous crimes to their own delight and sky’s the limit, because they knew that the torment -bound prison cell was turned into a heavenly sanctuary! The former Aquino administration and his subordinates allowed these maligns to spread all over the place. Criminals were not scared to shoot a policeman because they knew the human rights advocates and some higher governmemt officials were on their side and a policeman who upholds the law will be left defenseless.
The number of people who died during this drug campaign is only less than a fraction as compared to those who were given assistance to change. As i mentioned previously, drug criminals end up being dead as what they believe that when they shoot back on the authorities they can get out of the mess easily.
Currently, since this campaign, the streets were cleared of crimes and even alcoholism until dawn were minimized. Smoking in public were strictly prohibited.
Now i dont see any light or hint that the law has been sacrificed for security. I was skeptical until i saw the true picture contrary to what the media had been inculcating in the minds of the poor masses. My best advice for you is to see the other side of the coin and never judge one side of it until you discern the real difference.
admin
Friday September 16th, 2016 at 07:26 AMYou paint a glowing picture of the benefits of the way in which Duterte has ruled. We do not deny that it is effective – for now. However, he still bypasses due process (which is part of the rule of law) in the way he deals with criminals. Apparently he has thrown out the rule of law to stem the tide of crime. The problem is not the rule of law. The problem is the corruption of government officials, which have created a welcoming environment for crime. Our prophetic point still remains. In the Philippines, due process is sacrificed for the benefit of cleaning up the mess. This is what is going to happen in the last days to God’s people. They will be demonized and made out to be criminals. Instead of extrajudicial killing of criminals (or perhaps in addition to it), God’s true people will be treated as criminals. And since the nations no will longer need due process to punish criminals, God’s people will be treated in the same or similar way as Duterte treats the criminals today. Our summary of the news article is not addressing the effectiveness of Duterte’s crime-crushing methods. It is addressing the prophetic issue, which is our mission.
Evangeline Waagen
Thursday September 15th, 2016 at 09:59 PMPastor, I am a Filipino, and is living now here in the US. I and almost 90 % of the filipino’s was glad that Duterte have accepted the challenge to stop the overwhelming illegal drugs in our country… In 2000 while living in Taguig, one of the city in Manila, there was one store clerk who was raped and killed by inserting an 12oz coke bottle in her vagina and was thrown on a ditch by the road… My godfather was a tricycle driver and was terrified to see it and immediately went to the bus stop to pick me up, and promised to always make sure that I get in the bus and off the bus and get home safely everyday… That was not the only time that this happened since I live there, ladies like me who have to walk from the office the place where we ride the bus was always scared to death that some drug addicts will snatch you, but those victims and killings was not reported because the corrupt government did not care if your child at the age of 3 is being raped by their crazy dad who was a drug user… I myself has been abused by a drug addict a cousin, the reason why I become tough while living there because you need to survive… The media on the other hand and most of the reporters and some of the government leaders who have connections with the druglords by making money from them is doing everything they can to ruin the agenda of the President in pushing away those druglords who have made a safe haven and have constructed big laboratories for those drugs but this was not reported in the news… I am an advocate of those illegal drugs since I was in high school in fact I too promised my older brother and sister who was that time using marijuana that I will kill them if they will not go out of the house and stop using it if not put them to prison, they were scared of me because I mean what I said and that time I was one of the certified NARCOM (narcotic men in action) intelligent… The past president like the Aquinos are also one of those who defended those drug lords and there are more killings before than right now because the crime was so high before unlike this time just because of the fight for drugs they report it as high crime but those mayors and congressman that was killed in Leyte are also drug pushers….another thing those drug lords are killing themselves too and blame it to Duterte… Bow, do I feel bad that lots of them are dead? NO, because dor all those years if you count the number of those victims who died in the hands of those drug addicts since I was a kid was much higher than of those drug users now… Also I have never seen my country so neat and clean and in order since the late President Marcos and now Duterte did just like what Marcos did… Filipino people are good people but for a long time that there was no good president that care about the people my country became one of the poorest…. I am not worried of scaring my family especially whom some of them are using drugs and they did quit because I told them I will kill them, Hence, for the spiritual side I would sacrifice myself in order to save my love ones and my friends… By the way, I am one of your follower where I love listening to your sermons…. God Bless!
admin
Friday September 16th, 2016 at 07:30 AMCertainly all that is true. But it does not address the prophetic point of our article, which is that those who being groomed through this lack of due process will one day turn on God’s people who keep all of his commandments, and treat them the same or similar.
Batubalani
Friday September 16th, 2016 at 02:02 AMWhat makes this situation in the Philippines a phenomenon is that many “Christians” believe that the man is the will of God for the country. Now that a former member of his cold blooded torturous death squad stepped forward to reveal the evils of killing people “just like chicken” headed by no other than Mr. Duterte himself. There is no question about the testimonies of the man because since day one, Duterte admitted of killings in his city. The Philippines is in dark dark and disillusioned state right now and many Christians are riding the wave of this tyrannic leader.
admin
Friday September 16th, 2016 at 07:27 AMYou paint a glowing picture of the benefits of the way in which Duterte has ruled. We do not deny that it is effective – for now. However, he still bypasses due process (which is part of the rule of law) in the way he deals with criminals. Apparently he has thrown out the rule of law to stem the tide of crime. The problem is not the rule of law. The problem is the corruption of government officials, which have created a welcoming environment for crime. Our prophetic point still remains. In the Philippines, due process is sacrificed for the benefit of cleaning up the mess. This is what is going to happen in the last days to God’s people. They will be demonized and made out to be criminals. Instead of extrajudicial killing of criminals (or perhaps in addition to it), God’s true people will be treated as criminals. And since the nations no will longer need due process to punish criminals, God’s people will be treated in the same or similar way as Duterte treats the criminals today. Our summary of the news article is not addressing the effectiveness of Duterte’s crime-crushing methods. It is addressing the prophetic issue, which is our mission.