British baron's daughter dies in Philippine drug war

It comes as a leading critic of Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drug crime, was ousted on Monday as head of a senate investigation into the anti-narcotics campaign.

MANILA // A daughter of the late British baron Lord Moynihan has been killed in the Philippines where the government is waging a deadly war on drugs which has cost thousands of lives.

Maria Aurora Moynihan, 45, was shot by unknown attackers who left her by the side of a Manila street on September 10.

The announcement of her death came as Senator Leila de Lima, a leading critic of Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drug crime, was ousted on Monday as head of a senate investigation into the anti-narcotics campaign.

Moynihan’s killers left a cardboard sign accusing Moynihan of being a “drug pusher for celebrities”, chief inspector Tito Jay Cuden said.

The victim was on bail while facing charges of possession of illegal drugs following a February 2013 suburban Manila police raid.

“Witnesses told us they heard a series of gunshots, then saw a vehicle leaving the area. They did not see its licence plates,” Mr Cuden said.

CCTV footage aired on local television network ABS-CBN showed a vehicle stop and open its door on the deserted part of the street where the body was later found.

“She’s considered a drug personality,” Mr Cuden said. No arrests have been made and an investigation is continuing, he added.

Mr Duterte’s war on drugs has claimed more than 3,800 lives from July 1 to Sepember 18.

The high toll and mysterious circumstances of some of the killings have alarmed rights groups, the United States and United Nations, whose concerns have drawn angry rebukes from Mr Duterte.

On Monday, Ms de Lima said her probe into the surge of killings since Mr Duterte took office on June 30 had been derailed after his allies voted to remove her as head of the Senate justice committee.

Ms De Lima, a former justice secretary and human rights chief, had launched the senate probe which heard allegations last week from a former hitman that Mr Duterte ordered hundreds of killings when he was mayor of the southern city of Davao and even shot one victim himself.

The government described the allegations as lies.

On Monday, pro-Duterte senators who control the legislative chamber charged that Ms de Lima’s investigation was ruining the country’s image and voted to remove her as head of the justice committee.

* Agence France-Presse, with additional reporting from Reuters