Students from a Catholic university in Manila stage a demonstration to protest the spate of drug-related killings in the country. (Photo by Roy Lagarde)
More than a hundred Catholic school students staged a 'noise barrage' in Manila on Sept. 30 to protest the spate of drug-related killings in the country.
The students made noise by shouting "No to Killings" while holding placards that read, "Thou Shall not Kill" and "Justice for Human Rights Victims."
Students from Manila's St. Paul University lambasted the government for "lack of action" to put a stop to the almost-daily killings of suspected drug addicts and peddlers.
"This is not the kind of justice that we want," said Nica Dominique Ondoy, president of the student group Pro-Life Paulinians.
"This is also not the kind of justice that victims of crimes should receive," she added. The student leader said the country "needs restorative justice and not the outright killings of people."
The protesters also tied red ribbons around the university campus in downtown Manila.
Ondoy said the protest action aimed to create "awareness on the sanctity of human life" and "due process" for victims of the killings.
Since President Rodrigo Duterte assumed the presidency on June 30, some 3,500 people linked to the illegal drugs trade have been killed.
"We are one with the people who want an end to the drug menace in the country. But no amount of killings is bound to end this problem," said Cora Agovida, spokeswoman of the Stop the Killings Network.
The group reiterated its call to lay down long-term solutions to end the illegal drugs problem in the country.
"Poverty must be ended, not the lives of the poor," said Agovida.