Another mayor is making headlines for taking justice into his own hands.
To keep his town safe, Tanauan mayor Antonio Halilii is employing similar strategies used by the incoming president Rodrigo Duterte.
On May 18, Halili made seven suspected drug pushers walk around the town market while bearing a sign saying, “Ako’y drug pusher, ‘wag tularan (I am a drug pusher. Do not imitate me).”
The catch? The suspects say that the charges against them haven’t actually been proven yet.
Furthermore, three of the suspects are minors. One is a 14-year-old girl while two others are both 17, ABS-CBN reports.
Commission of Human Rights (CHR) Officer Jacqueline de Guia said that the “walk of shame” is a form of mental torture because “it brings shame to a suspect who has yet to be proven guilty.”
CHR says the mayor should just let the justice system take over.
In 2012, the mayor came under fire when he ordered the same punishment for a thief of dried fish. A rapist was ordered to do the same last month.
Reader Interactions