Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), dubbed as the modern-day heroes, appealed to the Duterte administration to spare them from extrajudicial killings.
The statement comes after the killing of a vacationing OFW, Mark Anthony Culata, who was last seen in police custody.
The United Overseas Filipinos Worldwide and the OFWs for Peace Coalition expressed concern that the circumstances of his death indicate the he was a victim of extrajudicial killing.
CCTV footage showed that PO2s Yves Luyun and Emerson de Ocampo and PO1s Edgardo Fontanilla and Herman Romanes took custody of Culata, whose body was later found with gunshot wounds.
The four police officers from the Tanza Police Station in Cavite have been relieved from their duty. PNP Director General Ronald Dela Rosa earlier said that the National Bureau of Investigation is handling the criminal case that will be filed against them.
Culata’s death may have a “chilling effect” on workers who may decide not to go home to the Philippines for Christmas in fear of their lives, according to international group Human Rights Watch (HRW).
Latest PNP statistics show that as of October 10, 3,844 have died in the war against drugs since July 1.
