Cash incentives reaching five figures are now being awarded to police officers who manage to kill drug or crime suspects, an opposition lawmaker bared yesterday.
“There is a system in place. I’ve received information that high-ranking Philippine National Police (PNP) officials are involved,” Magdalo Party-list Rep. Gary Alejano said in an interview.
Alejano, a former Marine captain, is a member of the “Magnificent Seven” in the House of Representatives (HoR). The group is the self-styled fiscalizers of President Duterte’s administration.
“So far, one kill is P10,000. It even went down as low as P5,000 per kill,” Alejano said, citing personal sources.
“But I believe that one point, it was higher [than P10,000],” the soldier-turned-congressman added.
The Magnificent Seven has consistently criticized the Duterte administration for its mounting body count as far as it’s all-out war against illegal drugs is concerned.
Since Duterte took over Malacañang on June 30 an estimated 5,000 people have been slain – 2,000 of those death coming from legitimate police operations. The remaining 3,000 are reportedly summary executions or extrajudicial killings (EJKs).
Alejano said it’s not clear how many deaths have resulted from the “pay-per-kill” scheme. (Ellson A. Quismorio)