Newsbreak Reads: In war on drugs, lives of police at risk too

MANILA, Philippines – In the government’s bloody war to stamp out illegal drugs, it’s not just drug users or pushers whose lives are at stake.

While criticized by human rights groups for the rising body count, Philippine police have maintained that the suspects killed in legitimate operations tried to fight back. They were only defending themselves, they said, adding that their lives were also on the line after every round of buy-bust operations.

“This is also scary for us. But this is our job, so we risk our lives,” one police inspector said. – Rappler.com

15-minute listen. Written by Mara Cepeda, read by Marites Dañguilan-Vitug, edited by Jaene Zaplan. If you missed this story earlier, you can read the full text story here.

• Listen to the 1st episode: Newsbreak Reads: Rowena Tiamson, not a drug pusher
• Listen to the 2nd episode: Newsbreak Reads: Drug user? No, Oman was a good son
• Listen to the 4th episode: Newsbreak Reads: Martial Law, the dark chapter in Philippine history
• Listen to the 5th episode: Newsbreak Reads: ‘Nanlaban sila’: Duterte’s war on drugs
• Listen to the 6th episode: Newsbreak Reads: Propaganda war: Weaponizing the internet