Dozens of Protesters Stage 'Die-in' Outside Filipino Consulate Against Drug Killings

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Dozens of protesters demonstrated outside the Filipino Consulate in Manhattan against the spike in killings by police in the war on drugs. The protest was organized by the grassroots organization VOCAL-NY, which deals with issues of drug use, HIV/AIDS and mass incarceration.

Police and vigilante killings in the Philippines have reached 1,800 in just the seven weeks since the new president, Rodrigo Duterte, was sworn into office, according to a police official speaking at a Senate hearing in the country on Monday.

The demonstrators held signs that said, "Drug dealing and drug use should not be reasons for execution!" and read the names out loud of approximately 1,000 people who have been killed in the Philippine's new government's war on drugs.

Duterte's campaign for the presidency emphasized that he would rid the country of the drug war, but many Filipinos believe the killings to be a flagrant violation of human rights. Duterte has told police to "shoot to kill" suspects in the drug war, according to a New York Times report.

Image courtesy of VOCAL-NY