(Refiles to fix order of misplaced word 'kill' in paragraph 1)
MANILA, March 8 (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo
Duterte's order to kill armed rebels was legal, his spokesman
said on Monday, as catholic leaders joined condemnation of the
killings of nine activists in separate weekend raids against
suspected insurgents.
Human Rights groups are outraged over the deaths of what
they said were legitimate activists under the guise of
counter-insurgency operations, which came two days after Duterte
told security forces they could kill rebels if they were holding
a gun and to "ignore human rights".
"The president's 'kill, kill, kill' order is legal because
it was directed at armed rebels," his spokesman Harry Roque said
in a briefing, adding the government would still investigate the
incident.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, an
influential church group, in a statement denounced the use of
what it called unnecessary force and violence during "Bloody
Sunday".
On Sunday, Lieutenant General Antonio Parlade, head of an
anti-rebel task force, told Reuters the raids were "legitimate
law enforcement operations", and authorities had search warrants
for firearms and explosives.
Activists said the raids were reminiscent of police
operations in which thousands of people have been killed as part
of Duterte's signature war on drugs, in which police said all of
the victims were armed and had resisted arrest.
Among those killed was a coordinator of Bagong Alyansang
Makabayan, a left-wing group that has called for an end to
"red-tagging", the practice of labelling opponents communists or
terrorists to justify targeting them, which dates back to the
the rule of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Human Rights Watch said the government's counter-insurgency
campaign no longer makes a distinction between armed rebels and
non-combatant activists, labour leaders, and rights defenders.
Since coming to power in 2016, Duterte has seen his efforts
to forge peace with Maoist rebels derailed repeatedly, prompting
frequent outbursts and threats to wipe them out.