MORE VIGILANTE-STYLE KILLINGS REPORTED IN DAVAO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 000312 SIPDIS NOFORN DEPT FOR EAP/PMBS, INR/EAP, DRL/CRA NSC FOR GREEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/20/2015 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINS PINR SNAR RP SUBJECT: MORE VIGILANTE-STYLE KILLINGS REPORTED IN DAVAO CITY REF: A. MANILA 129 ¶B. 03 MANILA 6557 Classified By: Political Officer Andrew McClearn for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: There have been 26 reported killings of suspected criminals in Davao City, Mindanao, since the new year began. Human rights organizations have implicated the "Davao Death Squad," a vigilante group linked with Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, in the killings. Mission has expressed concern to the GRP about the killings in Davao and earlier reports of similar killings in Cebu City. Amid further incendiary comments by the local mayor, the Philippine National Police (PNP) have begun an investigation into the situation in Cebu. The latest killings in Davao serve to add to the lethal image that Mayor Duterte has carefully cultivated since coming to office in 1998. End Summary. -------------- Davao: Surge in Vigilante-Style Killings -------------- ¶2. (SBU) There have been 26 reported vigilante-style killings in Davao City, Mindanao, since the new year began. Most of those killed were apparently petty criminals, although the list of victims included marketplace vendors, construction workers, a housewife, and two members of a leftist political party. Press reports indicate that masked men on motorcycles committed most of the killings. ¶3. (SBU) Human rights organizations have accused the "Davao Death Squad," (DDS) a vigilante group linked with Davao Mayor Duterte, of carrying out many of the killings. The DDS was similarly implicated in over 60 killings in 2004. Mayor Duterte all but acknowledged his active support of the DDS group during a 2003 meeting with poloffs (Ref B). PNP officials, who are investigating the situation, are also looking into reports that some of the killings may have been the result of a local turf war between traffickers of "shabu" (meta-amphetamines). Duterte, referring to the killings, stated last week: "Drug lords are garbage and we will dispose of them like garbage." In a January 17 meeting at city hall, he also offered cash rewards to citizens who helped identify drug traffickers or drug production laboratories so that they could be "punished and destroyed." -------------- - Lack of Confidence in GRP Investigatory Effort -------------- - ¶4. (C) Mission has raised concerns about the latest killings in Davao. Philippine government contacts have promised that the GRP is looking into the situation. Albert Sipaco, director of the Davao office of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR),told us that he did not have confidence in the ability of the national government to investigate the situation, however well-intentioned it might be: "We are having the same problem as last year; friends and families of the victims don't lift a finger to accuse anyone, and neither eyewitnesses or hearsay witnesses come forward to the authorities." Sipaco added that Duterte was unlikely to cooperate in any investigation given past patterns. Moreover, most Davao citizens "seem to approve" of the extra-judicial killings, which strengthened Duterte's hand immeasurably, he said. Local human rights NGOs and leftist groups have also publicly complained about the killings, blaming Duterte for what has transpired. -------------- PNP Investigation in Cebu -------------- ¶5. (C/NF) Mission, in meetings with GRP officials, has also expressed concern regarding the recent string of apparent extra-judicial killings in Cebu (see Ref A). Mission has received confirmation that PNP Director General Edgar Aglipay has ordered his organization to investigate the situation. On January 14, Aglipay deployed his personal staff assistant, LTC Dionardo Carlos, to the PNP's regional task force office in Cebu. Carlos, who has a good reputation, confided to DEA officer that he had been tasked with investigating the 14 killings that have taken place in Cebu, including the accusations that some elements of the PNP are involved. Separately, poloff conveyed USG concern over the matter to Cebu City Vice Mayor Michael Rama. ¶6. (U) In the meantime, Mayor Tommy Osmena has continued to make public comments that clearly indicate his support for vigilante-style activities against suspected criminals. For example, Osmena was recently quoted as stating the following to a group of police officers: "Go ahead, pull the trigger. As mayor, my warning to anybody doing a crime is I will see to it that you'll be dead on the spot. If we catch you, you will be so sorry -- you won't be around." -------------- Comment -------------- ¶7. (C) The latest killings in Davao serve to add to the lethal image that Mayor Duterte has carefully cultivated since coming to office in 1998. As touched on above, his clear support for and public encouragement of extra-judicial killings has only added to his popularity -- he won his last two races for mayor by landslides. Unfortunately, Tommy Osmena, the mayor of Cebu, appears to be following the same "tough guy" script set out by Duterte (and other Filipino politicians). The sad fact is that rising crime rates and a slow, complicated legal system leave many Filipinos appreciative of such tactics, while weakening the rule of law in favor of summary justice. On the plus side, many local human rights groups and other observers continue to highlight the steep costs of vigilantism to Filipino society and institutions. Visit Embassy Manila's Classified website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/manila/index. cfm You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/ Ricciardone