Philippine President Duterte’s promise on 5 August 2016 to maintain a “shoot to kill” order in his crackdown on crime is a clear violation of the fundamental human right to life and could lead to further killings in the country.
In a further statement, two days later, President Duterte claimed that policemen or soldiers would not be held accountable for conducting such so-called ‘duties.’ This is a deeply alarming call given the rapid rise in killings in the Philippines.1 Amnesty International strongly opposes such measures, which will further exacerbate the culture of impunity amongst law enforcement officials for human rights violations in the Philippines.