Philippines Drug war

Its report levelled heavy criticism at President Rodrigo Duterte's government.

His drugs crackdown has been marked by high-level rhetoric that can be seen as "permission to kill", the report said, urging an independent investigation.

The administration has in the past rejected all criticism of its policies and denies the killings are illegal.

Official figures show more than 8,000 people were killed in the war on drugs since Mr Duterte took office in 2016. Other estimates put the figure three times as high.

In an elaborately planned, three-hour forum in an upscale Manila hotel, officials said 2,679 suspected drug users and dealers died during legitimate police operations between July 1 and January 30.

An additional 1,847 deaths between July 1 and March 31 are believed to have been drug-related, police said, but not the result of police activity.

Meanwhile, more than 5,000 homicides over those nine months remain "under investigation," with any potential connection to the drug war still to be determined.

"There was a knock on the door," said Elizabeth Navarro, who is pregnant and already a mother of five at 29. "My husband said who's that? Then I heard two gunshots."

By the time Navarro realized what was happening, her husband, Domingo Mañosca, and son, Francis, were dead. The gunmen were gone, in what has become open season for anyone suspected of being tied to drugs.

President Rodrigo Duterte was elected to office in May on a platform of cracking down on crime, particularly illegal drugs. Since taking office in early June, his police force has waged a bloody war on drug dealers and users, resulting in the deaths of thousands of suspects at the hands of police and vigilantes.

The figures released by the Philippine National Police Monday span the period from July 1 to December 12.

Duterte's latest remarks came just as the US and Philippines started joint military exercises -- perhaps for the last time.

The war drills began Tuesday in Manila and will last until October 12. Last week, Duterte said this round of joint drills with the US would be the last.

"I serve notice to you now that this will be the last joint military exercise with US," Duterte said.

'I will break up with America'

"The President recognizes the deep significance of the Jewish experience especially their tragic and painful history," presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said a statement. "We do not wish to diminish the profound loss of 6 million Jews in the Holocaust -- that deep midnight of their story as a people."

Abella said Duterte's opponents first brought up the Hitler reference before the May presidential election to "gain political mileage."

"The President's reference to the slaughter was an oblique deflection of the way he has been pictured as a mass murderer."