MANILA, Philippines — Grammy-awarded musician James Taylor has announced that he is canceling the Manila leg of his tour, saying he is taking a political stand against alleged summary killings in the Philippines.

In an announcement on his social media accounts, Taylor said he had been looking forward to playing in Manila in February.

"I don't think of my music as being particularly political but sometimes one is called upon to make a political stand," he said, making clear, however, that he believes drug addiction is a serious worldwide problem.

He added that he commends government efforts to prosecute those involved in illegal drugs, "recent reports from the Philippines of summary executions of suspected offenders without trial or judicial process are deeply concerning and unacceptable to anyone who loves the rule of law."

He apologized to fans and said that all tickets will be refunded fully. According to the SM Tickets website, seats for the James Taylor concert were priced between P2,120 for general admission to P14,260 for the VIP section.

According to government data, 2,124 suspected drug personalities have been killed in the government's war on drugs since July. Another 2,928 supposed drug personalities have also been killed in what the government says is a "cleansing" by drug syndicates, criminal gangs and vigilantes.

Concerns raised by the the US, the European Union and the United Nations over potential rights violations in the campaign against drugs have been met with criticism and strongly-worded statements from President Rodrigo Duterte.

The government has maintained that it does not support the so-called extrajudicial killings but that other nations and international organizations should respect the Philippines' sovereignty as the war on drugs is an internal matter.

It has also denied that there are extrajudicial killings in the Philippines, saying there can be none since the country does not have judicial killings through the death penalty. — Jonathan de Santos