Davao death squads
Encyclopedia
The Davao Death Squads or DDS, are a vigilante
group active in Davao City
in the Philippines
. The group is allegedly responsible for summary executions of delinquents and drug traffickers in Davao. As of August 2, 2004 the Mindanao Times
counted 52 summary-killing incidents involving the DDS.
The International Herald Tribune
reports that in the first three months of 2005 there were 72 executions.
A team from Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance, a human rights
group, and investigators from the Commission on Human Rights discovered killing fields where skeletal remains of victims of the death squads were dumped.
Human Rights Commissioner Dominador Calamba II has indicated that local executives and the police knew the criminals but were "seemingly tolerating" them. Human rights groups said the killings have become an unwritten government policy to deal with crime.
In the April 2009 UN General Assembly of the Human Rights Council, the UN report (Eleventh Session Agenda item 3, par 21) said, "The Mayor of Davao City has done nothing to prevent these killings, and his public
comments suggest that he is, in fact, supportive."
Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte
responding to the reported arrest and subsequent release of a notorious drug lord in Manila is quoted as saying: "Here in Davao, you can’t go out alive. You can go out, but inside a coffin. Is that what you call extra-judicial killing? Then I will just bring a drug lord to a judge and kill him there, that will no longer be extra-judicial."
According to Amnesty International
and local human rights groups, since 1998 over 300 people have been killed in Davao City by death squads. Amnesty International
states, killings and extrajudicial executions continued throughout the year, particularly of criminal suspects. In Mindanao many such killings, including those of minors, were attributed to the so-called “Davao Death Squad” vigilante group. It was reported that local officials in some areas advocated a “shoot to kill” policy with respect to criminal suspects resisting arrest. In 2004, Thousands of people protested the killings in a "walk for peace" and ecumenical prayer service.
A film depicting vigilante killings in the Philippines called Engkwentro, premiered in July 2009 at the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival
, where it received strong reactions. The film has since been selected as the only Filipino film to compete at the 66th Venice International Film Festival.
Nonetheless, in spite of, and perhaps because of, the presence of death squads, Davao City was awarded by the Department of Tourism as the Most Livable City in the Philippines in 2008.
Vigilante
A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
group active in Davao City
Davao City
The City of Davao is the largest city in the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. Its international airport and seaports are among the busiest cargo hubs in the Philippines....
in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. The group is allegedly responsible for summary executions of delinquents and drug traffickers in Davao. As of August 2, 2004 the Mindanao Times
Mindanao Times
Mindanao TIMES is the oldest newspaper in Mindanao, southern part of the Philippines. It was founded in 1946 with editorial & business office located at C. Bangoy cor. Palma Gil Sts., Davao City.- History :...
counted 52 summary-killing incidents involving the DDS.
The International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune
The International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...
reports that in the first three months of 2005 there were 72 executions.
A team from Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance, a human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
group, and investigators from the Commission on Human Rights discovered killing fields where skeletal remains of victims of the death squads were dumped.
Human Rights Commissioner Dominador Calamba II has indicated that local executives and the police knew the criminals but were "seemingly tolerating" them. Human rights groups said the killings have become an unwritten government policy to deal with crime.
In the April 2009 UN General Assembly of the Human Rights Council, the UN report (Eleventh Session Agenda item 3, par 21) said, "The Mayor of Davao City has done nothing to prevent these killings, and his public
comments suggest that he is, in fact, supportive."
Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte
Rodrigo Duterte
Rodrigo Roa Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (b. March 28, 1945 in Tagum City, Davao del Norte, Philippines is the current vice mayor of the city of Davao City, Philippines. He was first elected 1988 and reelected 1992 and 1995. In 1998, he ran for the House of Representatives and...
responding to the reported arrest and subsequent release of a notorious drug lord in Manila is quoted as saying: "Here in Davao, you can’t go out alive. You can go out, but inside a coffin. Is that what you call extra-judicial killing? Then I will just bring a drug lord to a judge and kill him there, that will no longer be extra-judicial."
According to Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
and local human rights groups, since 1998 over 300 people have been killed in Davao City by death squads. Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
states, killings and extrajudicial executions continued throughout the year, particularly of criminal suspects. In Mindanao many such killings, including those of minors, were attributed to the so-called “Davao Death Squad” vigilante group. It was reported that local officials in some areas advocated a “shoot to kill” policy with respect to criminal suspects resisting arrest. In 2004, Thousands of people protested the killings in a "walk for peace" and ecumenical prayer service.
A film depicting vigilante killings in the Philippines called Engkwentro, premiered in July 2009 at the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival
Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival
The Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival is a film festival in the Philippines held annually in the month of July at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Its aim is the development and promotion of Filipino independent film...
, where it received strong reactions. The film has since been selected as the only Filipino film to compete at the 66th Venice International Film Festival.
Nonetheless, in spite of, and perhaps because of, the presence of death squads, Davao City was awarded by the Department of Tourism as the Most Livable City in the Philippines in 2008.
See also
- Death squadDeath squadA death squad is an armed military, police, insurgent, or terrorist squad that conducts extrajudicial killings, assassinations, and forced disappearances of persons as part of a war, insurgency or terror campaign...
- Extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances in the PhilippinesExtrajudicial killings and forced disappearances in the PhilippinesExtrajudicial killings and forced disappearances in the Philippines refer to the illegal liquidations, unlawful or felonious killings and forced disappearances in the Philippines...