Philippines: Dozens executed by police in drug war in five days since President Duterte's inauguration

At least 30 suspected drug dealers have been killed by police in five days since Rodrigo Duterte was inaugurated as the president of Philippines on 30 June.

Besides, drugs worth 900m pesos ($19.2m, £15m) weighing 180kg was seized, in a major haul for the government, the police announced on 4 July. Duterte had vowed to wipe out drug traffickers and crack down on crimes in the country. The seized drugs are said to have come into the Philippines from China or Taiwan.

According to a Guardian report five drug traffickers were killed in a gun battle with police in a shanty town near a mosque on 3 July. "My men were about to serve arrest warrants when shots rang out from one of the houses in the area," Oscar Albayalde, Manila's police chief told reporters. However, there have been conflicting reports on the number of those killed since 30 June.

Critics and analysts fear the president's promises and actions evoke memories of the country's authoritarian past.

"The drug menace must stop... Yet the apparent serial summary executions of alleged street drug users or petty drug lords which appear sudden, too contrived and predictable must also stop," Edre Olalia, secretary general of the National Union of People's Lawyers said in a statement.

Amid the raids, a surprise drug test conducted by the Philippine National Police (PNP) revealed that 11 out of 2,405 of their own servicemen were tested positive for illegal drug use. Ronaldo Dela Rosa, the director general, who self-attested that he is clean, said those who failed the anti-drug test will face criminal and administrative charges, ABS-CBN news reported.

Since May, more than 100 armed drug dealers have been killed in gun battles with police during the raids. Besides, as the anti-drug campaign intensifies in the country, Rosa said that thousands of drug users have surrendered to police.