Arming civilians as ‘force multipliers’
Arming civilians as ‘force multipliers’
“If you have this coalition, you have a list of people who are there and can arm themselves. I will order the police. If you are qualified, get a gun and help us enforce the laws.”
This was what President Duterte reportedly said, on June 25 at Camp Crame, in his keynote speech after he administered the oath to the leaders of 11 organizations that the Philippine National Police have formed into a coalition. It was dubbed as the Global Coalition of Lingkod Bayan Advocacy Support Groups and Force Multipliers.
The statement touched off strong negative responses from legislators both in the Senate and the House of Representatives, the Commission on Human Rights, human rights defenders and other groups. Yesterday, the Inquirer came out with an editorial, titled “Road to vigilantism,” reflecting Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra’s warning that the President’s idea could goad the organizations he addressed into forming vigilante groups.
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