Anti-narcotics and human rights groups have appealed to the U.N to condemn Duterte's war on drugs

Police say a staggering 565,806 have turned themselves in since the crackdown began

have driven drug users and small-time dealers into frantic mass surrenders to officials

Ordered drug pushers to be 'put behind bars ... or below ground if you wish' a

He ordered police to carry out summary executions and also urged citizens to kill drug users and dealers

Over 400 people have been killed since the start of July and the death toll is set to rise even further

Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte has vowed not to back down on his brutal war on drugs


Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has acknowledged abuses in a war on illegal drugs, which has left more than 400 people dead in a month and alarmed rights activists, but refused to back down from a shoot-to-kill order for drug suspects.

'My order is shoot to kill you. I don't care about human rights, you better believe me,' said Duterte, a 71-year-old former government prosecutor.

Duterte said in his speech late on Thursday that most drug dealers and addicts slain in gunbattles with police had put up a fight, but added that he was sure some were 'salvaged,' a local slang for extrajudicial killings usually by law enforcers.

In the case of illegal killings, Duterte said the government will investigate.

The corpse of a suspected drug lord and victim of a vigilante-style execution with his head wrapped in tape lies on a street on July 28

The corpse of a suspected house thief and victim of a vigilante-style execution with his limbs tied and head wrapped with tape is seen on an empty lot on July 27, in Pasay, Philippines. A sign next to the corpse reads 'I am a house thief, do not imitate me'

Police investigators inspect the corpse of a suspected drug pusher and victim of a vigilante-style execution with his body wrapped in plastic and tape on a street in Makati

Relatives weep over the corpse of a suspected drug pusher after he was shot dead following a police operation on August 3, 2016 in Manila

'They really fight back, I know that,' Duterte said in a speech in southern Davao city, where he built a name as a mayor for his extra tough approach to crime before winning the presidency on June 30. 'I'm sure there are some who were salvaged, I am also sure of that.'

Early Friday, he told reporters that he gave 'shoot-to-kill' orders against drug dealers, including politicians involved in the illicit trade.

'I'll really have you killed. Look at what you're doing to the Philippines and I'll forgive you?' Duterte told reporters, apparently enraged after visiting a town police chief who was shot in the chest by a suspected drug dealer and rushed to a Davao hospital.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has acknowledged abuses in a war on illegal drugs but won't change his 'shoot-to-kill' instructions

A member of the police's homicide division takes pictures of the corpse of a suspected drug pusher after he was shot dead following a police operation on July 18, in Manila

A police investigator shows recovered sachets of crystal meth known locally as 'shabu' and cash money next to the corpse of a suspected drug pusher after he was shot dead

Police investigators inspect empty bullet shells scattered on the ground as the corpse of a suspected drug runner is seen outside a store after he was shot dead by unidentified gunmen on August 1, in Quezon city

Police inspect the corpse of a suspected drug pusher and victim of a vigilante-style execution with his body wrapped in plastic and tape on a street on July 29, in Makati

A member of the police's homicide division inspects the corpse of a suspected drug addict and victim of a vigilante-style execution with his hands tied and head wrapped with tape on a street on July 27, in Pasay

Duterte pledged to kill thousands in an all-out war against drugs, an election promise that helped win him the presidency by a massive margin in a country where drugs and crime are deeply-rooted

A member of the police's homicide division takes pictures of the corpse of a suspected house thief and victim of a vigilante-style execution

Duterte's centerpiece anticrime drive, focused on an ambitious campaign promise to end the widespread drugs problem in six months, has left more than 400 drug suspects dead, many of them either in firefights with police or under suspect circumstances. More than 4,400 have been arrested, police said.

The unprecedented killings have scared more than half a million drug users and dealers who gave themselves up to police, officials said. An overwhelmed Duterte has said he was considering to set aside some areas in military camps nationwide to build rehabilitation centers for those who surrender.

A legal expert, Jose Manuel Diokno, said Duterte's latest shoot-to-kill order is, at the least, legally questionable.

Adequate safeguards exist in the country's legal system, including requirements for court warrants for arrests, to protect the public and ensure law enforcers are not given 'unbridled discretion' that can lead to abuses, Diokno said.

A resident covers the face of a suspected drug pusher who was shot dead following a police operation on July 18, as children gather around the grim scene

A sign that reads 'I am a carnapper and drug addict, do not imitate me' is seen next to the corpse of a suspected drug addict

The corpse of a suspected drug pusher and victim of a vigilante-style execution with his hands tied and head wrapped with tape is pictured under a bridge

Police inspect the belongings of a suspected drug lord and victim of a vigilante-style execution with his head wrapped in tape

Morgue personnel load the the corpse of a suspected drug pusher and victim of a vigilante-style execution

Relatives of a suspected drug pusher weep after he was shot dead following a police operation on August 3, in Manila

A women cries as she holds onto a young man after their relative was shot dead after being accused of being involved with drugs

The government's Commission on Human Rights could seek to stop the anti-crime drive through a court petition, said Diokno, who heads the Free Legal Assistance Group, a nongovernment group that provides legal help to the poor.

Sen. Leila de Lima, who led the commission previously, has sought a senate investigation of the killings but has faced opposition from Duterte's political allies. She said she supports the battle against drugs but condemned the widespread killings.

'There must be a way other than this method that brings us to our collective descent into impunity, fear, and ultimately, utter and complete inhumanity. We cannot wage the war against drugs with blood,' de Lima said in a senate speech this week.

A police officer stands guard outside a house where three suspected drug pushers were shot dead following a police operation in Manila

A picture shows members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) lifting a dead body following a police operation against illegal drugs in the town of Plaridel, in Bulacan province

Yury Fedotov, executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has condemned the 'reports of extrajudicial killing of suspected drug dealers and users' in the Philippines

She said the dead included those who were innocent and 'the proportion is rising.'

Horrific photos show men shot and left to bleed out on busy streets and mutilated corpses dumped in vacant lots.

Hundreds of people have died since Duterte won a landslide election in May, promising to rid society of drugs and crime in six months by killing tens of thousands of criminals.

Police figures showed this week that 402 drug suspects had been killed since Duterte was sworn in at the end of June. That figure does not include those slain by suspected vigilantes.

The wife of a suspected drug pusher and victim of a vigilante-style execution grieves over the corpse of her husband during a burial ceremony on August 3

Relatives of a suspected drug pusher and victim of a vigilante-style execution grieve while wearing white and as they carry flowers during a burial ceremony on August 3, in Pasay

Filipino widow Genair Bumagat (second right) is seen grieving next to the coffin of her husband, Police officer Edgar Bumagat, who was shot by an alleged drug dealer during an operation against illegal drugs, in Makati city

The country's top broadcaster, ABS-CBN, reported that 603 people had been killed since Duterte's May election, with 211 murdered by unidentified gunmen.

Anti-narcotics and human rights groups from different parts of the world, on Wednesday, appealed to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) to condemn Duterte's war on drugs.

In statements from groups such as the Australian Drug Foundation and Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, they called on Duterte to stop the killings and ensure the protection and rights of people who use drugs.

In one viral image summing up the human cost, a young woman howls in pain as she cradles her partner's blood-soaked body under the glare of television lights as horrified bystanders look on from behind yellow police crime tape.

This man was attacked by anti-drug vigilantes as he drove his tricycle, his body left hanging from the humble vehicle as blood dripped onto the street

A Filipino crime scene investigator conducts an investigation where the body of a suspected drug dealer, who was shot dead by an unidentified gunman, lies in a street in Pasay City, south of Manila, on 04 August

Anti-narcotics and human rights groups from different parts of the world, on Wednesday, appealed to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) to condemn Duterte's war on drugs

Filipino crime scene investigators conduct an investigation into a dead body as crowds gather around the police tape

This photo taken on July 8, shows police officers investigating the body of an alleged drug dealer with his face covered with packing tape, with a cardboard sign on him reading 'I'm a pusher', at a street in Manila

Police figures showed this week that the death toll in Duterte's war on drugs has risen to 402

'My husband was innocent. He never hurt anyone,' Jennilyn Olayres said of her partner Michael Siaron, 30, a tricycle driver - refuting the crude cardboard poster left behind by the motorcycle-riding gunmen killers saying 'drug pusher'.

Police raids of suspected drug dealers' hideouts have led to near-nightly deaths. Most of the dead suspects - often found face-down in pools of blood - had pistols lying next to them in the act of resisting arrest, according to authorities.

Suspected sympathy killings by anti-drug vigilantes have also left a trail of death. One man was attacked as he drove his tricycle, his body left hanging from the humble vehicle as blood dripped onto the street.

Groups such as the Australian Drug Foundation and Canadian Drug Policy Coalition have called on Duterte to stop the killings and ensure the protection and rights of people who use drugs

Filipino residents view a the body of a suspected drug dealer, who was shot dead by an unidentified gunman at a street in Pasay City

This photo, taken on July 28, shows police officers carrying the body of an alleged drug dealer shot dead by police during a drug bust operation in Manila

Jennilyn Olayres is pictured grieving beside the coffin of her partner Michael Siaron after he was found dead in the streets of Manila with a crude cardboard poster left behind by the motorcycle-riding gunmen killers saying 'drug pusher', a claim she refutes

Relatives of a tricycle driver are seen grieving after he was killed by unidentified gunman for being an alleged drug dealer in Manila

The distraught relatives of a tricycle driver are pictured after he was gunned down, his body left to hang over his vehicle

Other people have simply turned up dead in deserted streets and vacant lots at night, their faces cocooned in packaging tape and with cardboard signs accusing them of being drug dealers hanging on their chests.

At his first 'State of the Nation' address to Congress, Duterte defended his anti-crime campaign and described the scene at Siaron's shooting as a parody of Michelangelo's 15th century Pieta marble sculpture.

'And there you are, dead and portrayed in a broadsheet like Mother Mary cradling the dead cadaver of Jesus Christ,' the president said, describing the tableau as 'drama'.

Police officers investigate the dead body of an alleged drug dealer with his face covered with packing tape with a cardboard sign on him that reads 'I'm a pusher'

People have simply turned up dead in deserted streets and vacant lots at night, their faces cocooned in packaging tape

A police man is seen reeling out yellow crime scene tape around another dead body gunned down in the street

This photo shows a gun beside a body of an alleged drug dealer shot dead by police officers after a drug buy bust operation

A police officer ropes off the crime scene as the body of an alleged drug dealer shot dead lies in the street in Manila

For an alleged drug dealer, Siaron did not have a lifestyle like Mexican or Colombian cartel kingpins.

The rented hovel that was home to him and his girlfriend, made of scraps of plywood and iron sheeting, was not much bigger than a pig pen. It stood precariously on stilts atop a smelly, garbage-choked open sewer.

'At times we slept until late on purpose so we only had to worry about lunch and dinner,' Olayres, a street vendor, told AFP at her partner's wake.

Held in a hall at a local government office, two more of the dead were being mourned at the same time. Olayres said Siaron was among the more than 16 million Filipino voters who had catapulted Duterte to office.

The attacks have left wives and relatives crying and fainting at the carnage, but also driven drug users and small-time dealers into frantic mass surrenders to district officials. Police say a staggering 565,806 have turned themselves in.

Many of those who presented themselves with pledges to straighten out their lives wore rubber wristbands bearing Duterte's name - materials used during his election campaign.

Before the bodies started piling up, Manila police also launched a campaign, codenamed Oplan Rody - the incoming president's nickname - to rid the streets of drunks and shirtless men, who were made to do 40 pushups to avoid jail time.

A children's night curfew was also imposed in some districts, with violators and their parents made to undergo counselling.

This photo taken on July 15 shows a gun beside a hand of an alleged drug dealer shot dead by police officers

This photo shows a man detained after police officers saw him possessing a plastic of solvent in Las Pinas in southern Manila

This photo taken on June 1 shows men detained for drinking in a public place in Las Pinas, in southern Manila, and later made to do 40 push-ups, during a police operation called 'Oplan RODY'

Police say a staggering 565,806 have turned themselves in. Many of those who presented themselves with pledges to straighten out their lives wore rubber wristbands bearing Duterte's name

This photo taken on June 22 shows alleged drug dealers and addicts surrendering to authorities to undergo drug tests at Camp Karingal in Manila

Men detained in June for drinking in a public place in Las Pinas in southern Manila are seen doing 40 push-ups as police look on

This picture taken on June 8 shows children waiting their turn to sing karaoke along a street in the Divisoria market in Manila.Since winning the presidential election in May, Rodrigo Duterte has said he will impose late-night bans on children walking the streets, alcohol sales and the national passion of karaoke singing

Police officers stand in formation before the start of operation Oplan RODY, a campaign to rid the streets of drunks and shirtless men

This photo shows the shanty home in Manila of Jennilyn Olayres and alleged drug dealer Michael Siaron, a man who was recently shot dead by unidentified gunman

In his first state of the nation address to parliament Mr Duterte, dubbed 'The Punisher', ignored the outrage over the continuing death count, declaring that drugs were 'drowning his country' and had to be stopped at all costs.

'Double your efforts. Triple them if need be,' Mr Duterte told police.

'We will not stop until the last drug lord, the last financier and the last pusher have surrendered or been put behind bars ... or below ground if you wish,' he said.

Mr Duterte made it clear he would pardon police if they were charged with human rights violations for carrying out his merciless orders.

Two women cry in grief after armed assailants in a motorcycle shot their loved one in a main thoroughfare on July 23, in Manila

A young alleged drug dealer pictured with his hands and feet bound and his head wrapped in tape besides a road

Police examine the body of an alleged drug dealer in Manila, as shocked locals look on

The body of three alleged drug suspects lie inside a room littered with pink toys and a Hello Kitty cushion. A gun can be seen by one of the men's feet

A crime scene shows where an alleged drug dealer was killed. There have been hundreds of drug related deaths since the start of July

An alleged drug dealer and victim is found with his head wrapped in tape

A man is seen shot dead outside of a local shop in Manila and was another alleged drug dealer

A man in a blood soaked white t-shirt lays curled up on the ground next to a handgun

Another two bodies are seen in alleyways after being shot dead in Manila, The Philippines

An alleged drug dealer and victim is seen here with his hands bound and his head wrapped in tape

A woman clutches her dead husband in grief after armed assailants on a motorcycle shot him in a main thoroughfare on July 23

The wife of the victim said he was not a drug peddler and that he was nothing more than a pedicab driver plying his trade when he was shot in front of her

Mr Duterte won elections in May and immediately promised a law-and-order crackdown on drugs.

'These sons of w****s are destroying our children. I warn you, don't go into that, even if you're a policeman, because I will really kill you,' the president told an audience during a speech in the country's capital, Manila.

President Duterte has warned of widespread bloodshed as part of the government's war on drugs.

He vowed on one occasion during the election campaign that 100,000 people would die, and so many bodies would be dumped in Manila Bay that the fish there would grow fat from feeding on them, according to the South China Morning Post.

Duterte has also told police he would protect them from legal consequences if they killed drug dealers, the Post reported.

A funeral services worker in a yellow t-shirt is seen alongside police as another body of an alleged drug dealer is recovered in Manila

Local people line up behind a yellow police crime scene tape as police carry out an investigation in Manila

Funeral workers transport bodies of alleged drug dealers and victims of summary executions inside a funeral parlor on July 27

The body of an alleged drug dealer waits to be transported to a funeral home in Manila

This picture was taken at midnight after a drug raid in a large shanty community of the port area district on July 21, 2016 in Manila

A Filipino woman grieves the loss of her husband, next to a placard which reads 'I'm a pusher'. The man was shot dead by an unidentified gunman in Pasay City, south of Manila, Philippines

A Filipino funeral parlor worker wraps a body in in Pasay City, south of Manila

While women grieve the death of an alleged drug pusher in Pasay city, south of Manila (left), Filipinos carrying a wounded villager in Malabon City, east of Manila (right)

The body of a drug user is carried away in the town of Kawit, Cavite province, Philippines

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte's war on illegal drugs has already killed over 400 people since the start of July

Filipino villagers grieve the loss of their relative, who was shot dead by an unidentified gunman in Pasay City, south of Manila

Nearly 60,000 drug addicts across the Philippines have handed themselves in to authorities after president Duterte promised a law-and-order crackdown on drugs

Filipinos allegedly involved in illegal drugs handcuffed together inside a police headquarters in Manila. Presidential Communications Office Secretary Martin Andanar said close to 60,000 drug dependents have surrendered to authorities

Filipino inmates are seen inside a jail in Manila. President Rodrigo Duterte has urged citizens to 'go ahead and kill' drug dealers and users

Police officers remove packing tape wrapped over the lifeless head of an alleged drug dealer on a street in Manila

The government's top lawyer called for police to kill more suspected drug criminals, as he defended president Duterte's brutal war on crime against mounting criticism.

As the official death toll has mounted, and other bodies not confirmed killed by police have been found with placards declaring them drug traffickers, human rights lawyers have expressed deep concerns about the war on crime spiralling out of control.

In response to the criticism, Solicitor General Jose Calida held a press conference at national police headquarters to insist on the legality of the police killings and to encourage more deaths of people suspected of being involved in the drug trade.

'To me, that is not enough,' Calida said of the killings so far.

'How many drug addicts or pushers are there in the Philippines? Our villages are almost saturated (with drugs).'

Picture shows the body of a killed Filipino allegedly involved in illegal drugs. Police have confirmed killing more than 110 drug suspects since president Duterte came to power

Police officers investigate the body of an alleged drug dealer, his face covered with packing tape and a placard reading 'I'm a pusher', on a street in Manila

At least 300kg of shabua, a highly addictive methamphetamine, has been confiscated

Pictured, arrested Filipinos allegedly involved in illegal drugs resting inside a shanty in Manila. President Duterte has warned of widespread bloodshed as part of the government's war on drugs

In one of the deadliest single incidents, police reported killing eight 'drug personalities' during a pre-dawn raid on in a small southern town.

One of the nation's top human rights lawyers, Jose Manuel Diokno, warned last week that Duterte had 'spawned a nuclear explosion of violence that is spiralling out of control and creating a nation without judges'.

Former senator Rene Saguisag, a prominent human rights lawyer during the regime of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, also criticised Duterte's statements naming and shaming alleged drug lords and police officers ahead of a formal investigation.

'Do we still probe and have a trial as part of due process? Useless, it seems to me,' Saguisag wrote in an online column last week.

Some opposition lawmakers have also called for a congressional investigation into the spate of killings.

Calida, a Duterte appointee, said he would protect police from or during congressional probes, while emphasising it was up to critics to prove allegations of abuse rather than base inquiries on speculation.

'I am here to encourage the (police) not to be afraid of any congressional or senate investigations. We will defend them ... I am the defender of the (police),' he said.

Filipino suspected drug users and pushers participate in exercises after voluntarily surrendering in Manila