“Our call for a stop to the killings is obviously falling on deaf ears.”
This is what Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgillio David said following the rising number of slain drug suspects during alleged encounters.
David said the rising body count could be a “sign that the killings were picking up again.”
“The killings have been rampant again these past few days, especially in Bulacan,” David said.
In Caloocan, he cited 27-year old Isaac Vasquez III who was killed after he allegedly fought back during a buy-bust operation on May 27.
“The neighbors say he was handcuffed by the police, brought to a dark corner, told to run and then shot at. They say he could not have fought back. The man’s family cannot even afford a decent burial so they sought help from the Church,” David said.
Vasquez was the first fatality of the Caloocan police’s anti-illegal drug operation since President Duterte ordered the return of the war on drugs to the PNP five months ago.
Four drug suspects were killed during alleged shootouts with the Caloocan police in a span of two weeks. (Kate Javier)
