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Rights groups voiced fears on Wednesday after President Rodrigo Duterte announced his intention to create a "death squad" targeting suspected Communist rebels, saying it would worsen the "calamity" triggered by his deadly war against Drugs.
The 50-year struggle of the Philippines against communist militants, one of the oldest insurgencies in Asia, predated the anti-narcotic crackdown that killed thousands of people and attracted international censorship.
Like previous governments, Duterte initially held peace talks with the communists, but he set aside negotiations last year over deadly attacks on soldiers and police. .
In a speech Tuesday evening, he targeted the squadrons of communist rebels called "units of sparrows".
"What I miss is my own sparrow – it's where they (the communists) have an advantage … so I'll create my own sparrow, Duterte's death squad" against the sparrow, "said the president.
"I'm going to match their talent also to murder people," he added.
Philippine Secretary of Defense Delfin Lorenzana said Wednesday that his team would study the plan "very closely, who will compose it, who will supervise it, who will be the target," adding that there was "a great danger d & # 39; abuse. "
Since the end of negotiations with the rebels, Duterte has officially designated the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, composed of 3,800 members, the New People's Army (NPA) as terrorist organizations.
The low-lying insurgency claimed the lives of 30,000 people, according to government figures.
The founder of the Communist Party, Jose Maria Sison, said on Wednesday that "sparrow units" only existed in the 1970s and 1980s, at the height of the uprising.
"He invents so many units of sparrows to justify his own death squads that are illegal," Sison told the ABS-CBN television channel.
The president's announcement sparked immediate worries from activists, who said the death squad would aggravate the already deadly environment fostered by the war on drugs.
Police say they have killed nearly 5,000 suspected users and pushers, while advocacy groups say the toll is at least triple and could be a crime against humanity.
"His (Duterte) statement is an opening statement of the campaign against rebels, leftists, civilians and government critics," Human Rights Watch said in a statement.
"This new policy will only exacerbate the catastrophic human rights situation created by the drug war in the Philippines."
Amnesty International has also expressed its concern, citing the practice of labeling critics of the government as rebels or communist sympathizers.
"What is scary, is that anybody can be a target," said AFP Wilnor Papa, the group's human rights officer.
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