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Duterte admits ordering cops to provoke suspects to fight back
Former President Rodrigo Duterte admitted under oath at the Philippine Senate that he instructed police to "encourage" suspects to fight back, providing an excuse to kill them.
Duterte stated his instruction was to "encourage the criminal to fight, encourage them to draw their guns, and if they fight, then kill them so my problem in my city is done."
He added that he gave the same instruction during command conferences when he became president.
The former president made these remarks during an interpellation concerning the existence of the alleged Davao Death Squad (DDS).
Among the police officials whom Duterte said he gave the instructions to include former national police chiefs Archie Gamboa, Vicente Danao, and Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa, all of whom have served in Davao City.
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Former President Rodrigo Duterte stated he takes full legal and moral responsibility for his administration's bloody war on drugs but denied that killing was a policy.
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Former President Rodrigo Duterte admitted to forming a seven-man "hit squad" composed of gangsters in Davao City during his time as mayor.
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Former President Rodrigo Duterte admitted under oath that he instructed police to "encourage" suspects to fight back to justify their killing, a tactic he explained as a way to avoid legal repercussions based on his experience as a criminal law instructor.
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Former Senator Leila de Lima claims that the "Davao Model," which allegedly offers cash rewards to police for killing drug suspects, is similar to the reward system of the Davao Death Squad (DDS).
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House lawmakers are calling for charges against former President Rodrigo Duterte following his admission of full legal responsibility for alleged extrajudicial killings during his anti-drug campaign.
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