Philippines secret death squads: officer claims police teams behind wave of killings

[Judi Lynn]

Philippines secret death squads: officer claims police teams behind wave of killings

Exclusive: Thousands of people have been killed since Rodrigo Duterte became president and, according to one officer, secret police teams are partly responsible

Kate Lamb in Manila
Monday 3 October 2016 23.35 EDT Last modified on Tuesday 4 October 2016 03.06 EDT

“We are not that bad policemen or bad individuals. We are just a tool, we are just angels that God gave talent to, you know, to get these bad souls back to heaven and cleanse them.”

The words flow unnervingly from the mouth of the policeman, a senior officer in the Philippines national police (PNP), as he explains his role in 87 killings in the past three months.

It’s not about killing for pleasure, or being a “homicidal maniac”, he says. There is a higher purpose at play.

“We are here as angels. Like St Michael and St Gabriel, right,” he says.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/04/philippines-secret-death-squads-police-officer-teams-behind-killings

[DetlefK]

1. Murdering, government-sanctioned religious fanatics who kill undesirables. Nice.

[Ford_Prefect]

2. Wasn't that what Reinhard Heydrich said about Kristallnacht? A Higher Purpose?