Shocking
pictures taken in morgues in the Philippines show the brutal realities
of President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs - months after he urged
citizens to open funeral parlours and said: 'I'll supply the dead
bodies'.
Since
July, police have killed more than 2,000 suspected drug dealers, while a
further 3,000 deaths are being investigated, amid fears of
extrajudicial murders.
The
president faces calls to punish police officers who act outside the
law, and even funeral parlour owners believe the killings are out of
control.
A Manila funeral parlour worker arranges cadavers in various stages of decomposition.
Undertaker Alejandro Ormeneta said he and his colleagues retrieve an average of five corpses a night
Manila undertaker Alejandro Ormeneta said he and his colleagues retrieve an average of five corpses a night.
In one instance, the 47-year-old told AFP, he had to take three nails out of the skull of an alleged drug dealer.
'This shouldn't happen, they are people, not animals,' he said.
'I
think he was still alive when they hammered the nails. They tied him up
first, put tape around his head, then hammered the nails in... that
must have been so painful. I felt so sorry for him.'
Ormeneta getting formalin from a drum and preparing embalming instruments before operating on a body in the morgue.
Since July, police have killed more
than 2,000 suspected drug dealers, while a further 3,000 deaths are
being investigated, amid fears of extrajudicial murders.
Chona Balina, the sister of an
alleged drug dealer who was gunned down by unidentified men inside his
house in Manila, crying after seeing her brother at the morgue.
On
another occasion, he was sent to pick up the body of Danilo Bolante, 47,
who police said had been selling shabu, the cheap crystal
methamphetamine that Duterte says is ruining society and must be
eradicated.
He was shot dead by masked gunmen.
But
Bolante's devastated sister, Chona Balina, said the allegation was not
true, and said he had reported himself as a former user who wanted to
change, registering on a Duterte campaign called Tokhang.
She asked: 'Why launch Tokhang if that's what they are going to do with people who are already changing?'
President Rodrigo Duterte's war on
drugs has claimed thousands of lives - months after he urged citizens to
open funeral parlours and said: 'I'll supply the dead bodies'.
Embalmers Alejandro Ormeneta (right)
and Orlando Cadiente (left) embalming a body inside the morgue of
Veronica Memorial Chapel in Manila.
Ormeneta displaying the body of an alleged drug dealer gunned down by unidentified men that he just finished embalming.
Duterte
has repeatedly denied that police are carrying out extrajudicial
killings, but in September said he would be 'happy to slaughter' three
million drug addicts.
He has also told police to kill drug dealers who violently resist, or if officers feel like they are in danger.
During
his presidential campaign, he said, to cheers and laughter at one
rally: 'The funeral parlours will be packed... I'll supply the dead
bodies.'
Bodies in various stages of decomposition in a morgue in Manila which was closed down by health authorities.
Workers are seen carrying dead bodies
to a dump truck in Manila. It is thought 5,000 suspected drug dealers
have been killed since July.
A
report by senators this week said there was no clear proof that
extrajudicial killings were state-sponsored, but it called on Duterte to
observe due process.
'The
war against illegal drugs must be won within the legal system, and the
president must lead in reminding the people of this important message,'
senators wrote.
The
senators, including the president's allies, also cautioned the
unpredictable Duterte to be 'careful with his words (and) avoid
inappropriate statements lest they be construed as policies of the
state'.
Duterte said funeral parlours would be busy during his election campaign, and this has turned out to be true.
A body being embalmed by Alejandro Ormeneta, who has called for the killings to end.
A report by senators this week said
there was no clear proof that extrajudicial killings were
state-sponsored, but it called on Duterte to observe due process.
On
Wednesday, Duterte defended police officers who killed a detained mayor
on a list of top drug suspects, even after another law enforcement
agency concluded the death was an extrajudicial killing.
'When
the police deem themselves to be omnipotent, they are emboldened and
more killings ensue; the duty to protect the people is thrown out the
window,' the senators said in their report, a copy of which was obtained
by Reuters.
'The
offshoot will be silencing accused drug pushers and drug lords without
affording them the bill of rights guaranteed to them by the
constitution.'
Thousands of bodies have piled up
since the president took office in July, having promised a brutal
crackdown on the illegal drug trade.
Stitches on the chest of a man gunned down by unidentified men in Manila
The body of an alleged drug dealer in a Manila funeral home, where staff retrieve an average of five corpses each night.
Funeral
director Rico Teodocio told AFP that the families of those killed are
often unable to pay for funerals, and often gives discounts.
He
said: 'I don't know if pathetic is the right term to use but you really
pity them. We suffer too because we give our lowest price.'
Many
bodies go unclaimed, Ormeneta said, either because families do not know
about the death, do not want to be associated with the drug trade, or
are too poor to pay.
'It's sad. They die without anyone coming for them,' he said said, pointing at black corpses at the back of the morgue.
Embalmers Alejandro Ormeneta (right)
and Orlando Cadiente (left) embalming a body inside the morgue of
Veronica Memorial Chapel in Manila
No comments:
Post a Comment