The death squads that made Rodigo Duterte president

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The former Philippine head of state for the first time confessed to some of the crimes
The existence of so-called "death squads" has always been known during Rodrigo Duterte's rule in the Philippines.
But now, for the first time, the former president himself has admitted that he used such tools in his war on crime... and more.
During a hearing before a committee of the Philippine Parliament this week, Duterte said that even while he was mayor of Davao City, he had a squad at his disposal to carry out more special tasks.
"Don't question my politics. I offer no excuses or justifications. I did what I had to do and whether you believe it or not... I did it for my country," Duterte said in his opening statement.
"I can make a confession right now if you want. I had a death squad of seven people, but they weren't police, they were gangsters. I told one of them to commit a murder and threatened to kill him if he refused." he adds. 
For the police officers he had other instructions, though not much different. They had them force drug pushers and other criminals to resist so they could be shot.
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Duterte during the hearing in Parliament
Duterte in this case is talking about the time when he was mayor of the regional capital Davao for three terms between 1988 and 2016. In the years before he entered politics - in the 70s and 80s - drug trafficking networks linked to the Philippines operated a number of armed separatist, communist and far-right radical groups.
In the face of massive levels of crime and violence, Duterte's response is more violence.
According to Human Rights Watch, between 1,020 and 1,040 people were extrajudicially killed in the decade between 1998 and 2008.
Many of them are drug dealers, traffickers or other types of criminals. There were minors, there were also people killed without any evidence that they were involved in criminal activity.
By the end of Duterte's rule in Davao, the number of death squad members is believed to have grown to between 300 and 500. Most of them are not police officers but receive money, training, weapons, vehicles and tasks from the city's security services.
Most often, the specific task includes a name, address and photo of a specific target, according to a report by HRW. When she is eliminated, the police deliberately delay their response, providing an escape corridor for the killers.
Not all targets are criminals. In 2017, former police officer Arturo Lascañas testified that he was in charge of a group of 50 death squads.