‘He must die’: Civilians recruited in Philippines' savage war on drugs
The Philippines' raging war on drugs is being carried out by more than just the authorities, according to a husband and wife who claim they are receiving up to $100 a kill.
Referred to as Ace and Sheila, the married couple told SBS’ Dateline that they were recruited as paid assassins in President Rodrigo Duterte’s plan to kill 100,000 drug dealers and users.
“So our boss contacts us by phone and tells us we need to do a job on someone,” Ace said.
“We get told to kill them, because the boss is a well-known policeman. The moment I’m given a photo, it automatically becomes a job for us.”
He estimated that he and his fellow civilian recruits had performed a quarter of the 2800 killings that had taken place since ‘The Punisher’ (President Durtete) launched his war on drugs.
Ace said that they were both aware of the inherent risks associated with his new line of work but that it was the only way to comfortably provide for their four children.
His wife Sheila is often called into action when there may be issues with getting close to the target.
“Sometimes I pretend to be working as a dancer in a club, as a GRO [Guest Relations Officer]. But it also depends on the target, if they’re fond of going to bars, for example. So when we’re given the identification, it depends on what their habits are,” Sheila said.
Kills must be executed within three days of assignment in order to avoid aggravating their superiors, providing the couple enough time to study their target’s movements and behaviours.
“We don’t just shoot them once. We don’t leave them with just one shot. We make sure they’re dead. When we get the chance, we put the card with the word ‘pusher’ on them.
“Because the media picks it up when the card is on the target. We put the card so it attracts the media, and that’s our proof to our boss that the job is done.”
The parents turned assassins said they constantly feel remorse for their actions but remind themselves that the situation would quickly be reversed if they decided to opt out.
They told Dateline that the people they are killing are “much worse” they are and that many lives will be ruined if they are not killed.
“So he must die, and that’s not my fault. I’ve done nothing wrong. If he weren’t a bad person he wouldn’t have been in that situation,” Ace said.
“If I stop doing this, the situation will be reversed, we’ll be the ones to be targeted. So we really hope that the job is finished. And once it’s done, there’s no more to be done, and we go our separate ways.”
Until the big time dealers are taken care of, Ace and Sheila said they would continue to perform their assignments as they long as there is money in it.
See the full story on Tuesday night on Dateline, 9.30pm on SBS
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