MANILA - The Philippines assured the United States on Saturday that it does not support "unlawful killings" as the death toll from President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs continued to rise.
The Department of Foreign Affairs issued the statement a day after the US Embassy in Manila said $32 million in aid from Washington must be used to promote human rights.
The embassy statement also reiterated Washington's concern over "inappropriate and unacceptable"comments by President Rodrigo Duterte against outgoing US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg.
"We do not condone any unlawful killings and Philippine authorities have been instructed to immediately look into these incidents and bring the perpetrators to justice," the DFA said in the statement Saturday.
The DFA said it was "aware" of the embassy statement, adding, "We take note of their views on issues of mutual concern."
Since May 10, when Duterte's election mandate became clear, 1,000 drug suspects have been killed, 598 of them in police operations, according to data from the ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group.
Data showed 311 were killed by unidentified assailants while the remains of 91 others were found away from the crime scene.
SOURCE: ABS-CBN
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