'An eye for an eye' Death squads still unrepentant over Duterte drug war

The kills were easier to swallow after a few drinks. After each operation the police death squads would haunt Manila’s bars to take the edge off, and because some were superstitious, to ward off malevolent spirits following them home.

- Kate Lamb Mores Heramis

“Imagine, I kill 47 people and can just sleep? No, I was drinking, drinking just to sleep,” says one.

“You need to release stress and we are Filipino ... If we go home after killing, the spirit may follow you.”

Rights groups believe up to 30,000 alleged drug users and dealers were slaughtered in the so-called drug war that racked the Philippines after Rodrigo Duterte assumed power in 2016. Many of those killings, it is alleged, were by secretive police death squads.

Eight years on, Duterte is detained at The Hague, where he has been charged with crimes against humanity at the international criminal court (ICC) for allegedly orchestrating the campaign. But in Manila some police officers involved say their boozy, sleepless nights are over.

The Guardian interviewed four Philippine national police officers, including three former death squad members and one homicide detective, who were part of teams they claim killed about 400 people, including in senseless “vendettas”. As victims’ families long for justice, the officers are largely unrepentant, and across the Philippines a deep affection for Duterte endures.

All the officers interviewed - two of whom have since retired - believe the killing spree was justified. “Bad people”, they agreed, deserve to die.

The Philippine police did not respond to questions but a former police chief who oversaw the campaign previously described allegations of state-sanctioned death squads as “fiction”.

Duterte’s legal counsel at the ICC, Nick Kaufman, said court media policy prevented him from responding in detail to the allegations. “All I can say is that these recycled allegations are both thoroughly stale and vehemently denied,” he said via email.

“Despite the attempts of a few obstinate politicians bent on destroying his legacy, Mr Duterte continues to enjoy huge support both at home and abroad. He served his country faithfully and with pride.”