Manila July 18 (IANS) Hundreds of young students took to the streets here on Tuesday to slam the drug war initiated by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.
Students from the all-girls Saint Scholastica College in Manila marched to show opposition to Duterte s brutal campaign against drug dealers and users reports Efe news.
Christine Pinto a Catholic nun at the school said that almost 1 000 students aged nine to 16 joined the protest though only those who secured permission from their parents joined in.
"We encourage them to make a statement but of course we need their parents permission. This institute has always been for social justice. For the truth for freedom and that s what we teach to our students " she said.
Many students carried cardboard placards with messages such as "Youth Resist" "Stop the killings" and "EJK (extrajudicial killings) is not OK".
Duterte who was elected on a tough anti-crime platform has faced wide-ranging criticism for his war on drugs both from his compatriots and from foreign organisations.
Philippine government data released last month states that some 3 100 people linked to drug trafficking have been killed since Duterte took office on June 30 2016.
However Human Rights Watch puts the figure much higher at more than 7 000 and attributes the higher number to vigilantes acting with impunity.
But Duterte remains popular among Filipinos with the results of a Social Weather Stations (SWS) poll released on July 10 showing some 78 per cent of Filipino adults approve of his performance.
--IANS
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