Filipinos give thumbs up to Duterte's 'excellent' drugs war -poll

MANILA, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Philippine citizens are
overwhelmingly satisfied with President Rodrigo Duterte's bloody
war on drugs, a survey showed, giving a boost to a government
outraged by an international push to investigate allegations of
systematic murders by police.
The quarterly poll of 1,200 Filipinos by Social Weather
Stations returned a rating of "excellent" for Duterte's
three-year campaign, with 82% satisfied due to a perception of
less drugs and crime in the country.
That compared to 12% dissatisfied, because they believed the
drug trade was still flourishing and there were too many
killings and police abuses. The survey conducted by the
independent pollster in late June had 6% undecided.
It was released two days after the leak of a presidential
memo ordering departments and state-run firms to decline loans
or aid from the 18 countries of the United Nations Human Rights
Council (UNHRC) - among them Spain, Britain and Australia - that
backed a resolution to investigate Duterte's crackdown.
Police say they have killed more than 6,700 suspected drug
dealers who all resisted arrest, and deny involvement in the
mysterious murders of thousands more drug users.
Police reject allegations by human rights groups that they
have executed targets, falsified reports and tampered with
evidence and crime scenes.
Presidential spokesman, Salvador Panelo, said the poll
showed that the international community had a warped
understanding of what was happening.
"If it's true that there are human rights violations then
the people of this country will rise against this
administration," Panelo said on Monday.
"It's not true that policemen just kill at will, they cannot
do that," he added.
The 47-member Council approved a resolution in July to
compile a comprehensive report on the killings, which Manila's
foreign secretary said will not be permitted in the Philippines.
Panelo said domestic investigations had been undertaken
already, and the U.N. resolution was "not only unfair, it's an
insult."
The International Criminal Court has since last year been
conducting a preliminary examination to determine if there are
grounds to investigate Duterte. He has responded by cancelling
the Philippines membership of the court.
Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch,
said domestic surveys showing support for Duterte and his
campaign were exactly why an international probe was needed.
"It's ridiculous to say there is any sort of serious
national investigation into these crimes. It's laughable," he
told news channel ANC.
"We have total impunity that continues to surround those who
are involved in this," he added.