RAAP—031
DAVAO DEATH SQUAD
Dinhing Dapita Sadya (DDS) is the name commonly used for an alleged vigilante formation in Davao City, Philippines. Human rights monitors attribute to it a campaign of summary executions targeting suspected petty offenders and drug sellers, with estimates of 1,020 to 1,040 deaths or disappearances between 1998 and 2008.
Investigators from Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance and the Commission on Human Rights reported “killing fields” containing skeletal remains. CHR Commissioner Dominador Calamba II stated that local officials and police knew the perpetrators and appeared to tolerate them. Advocacy groups argue that the killings functioned as an informal crime-control policy amid weak due process and a failing criminal justice system.
Investigators from Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance and the Commission on Human Rights reported “killing fields” containing skeletal remains. CHR Commissioner Dominador Calamba II stated that local officials and police knew the perpetrators and appeared to tolerate them. Advocacy groups argue that the killings functioned as an informal crime-control policy amid weak due process and a failing criminal justice system.