Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 4) — A former Maguindanao town mayor tagged by President Rodrigo Duterte as a “narco politician” was killed in an anti-drug operation in Cotabato City on Friday.
A police report stated the police went to the house of Talib Abo Sr. to serve a search warrant, but the 62-year-old former official resisted and engaged authorities in a firefight.
Police said Abo was wounded and brought to the hospital where he was declared dead.
Authorities recovered firearms in his house. They also found a large sachet of suspected shabu estimated at P590,000.
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said that an investigation should be held to check if the police had observed its own guidelines during the operation that led to Abo’s death.
“It is necessary to find out the truth on what transpired during the said police operation to determine if the police has observed its own guidelines in serving warrants and the use of proportional force even during claimed encounters. An objective investigation shall ensure that human rights were not violated and all acts were carried out in line with our laws,” CHR Spokesperson Jacqueline de Guia said in a statement.
She added that the CHR recognizes the ill effects of illegal drugs to individuals and communities.
“As such, even from the start, we have expressed qualified support to the government campaign against illegal drugs and its intent to provide a better life to all Filipinos,” de Guia said.
