James Taylor cancels Manila concert to protest 'unacceptable' Philippines drug killings

The 68-year-old musician will continue with the rest of his tour

At least 6,000 people have been killed since Mr Duterte took office in July (AP)

The American singer-songwriter James Taylor has cancelled an upcoming concert in the Philippines to protest the country’s controversial “war on drugs” which has resulted in widespread reports of extra-judicial killings and roaming death squads.

The award-winning musician announced on both Twitter and his homepage, that he had decided not to go ahead with the gig as a result of the “unacceptable” killings that have been carried out under the rule of President Rodrigo Duterte.

“I don’t think of my music as being particularly political but sometimes one is called upon to make a political stand,” said Taylor, 68, whose decades of hits include songs include You’ve Got a Friend and Fire and Rain.

“For a sovereign nation to prosecute and punish, under the law, those responsible for the illegal trade in drugs is, of course, understandable, even commendable.”

He added: “But 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.”

Reports suggest that more than 6,000 people have been killed since Mr Duterte took office in July and launched a strident crackdown. Police say a third of those deaths were suspected drug dealers killed during counter-narcotics operations.

Yet Reuters said that the remainder were still under police investigation and are widely attributed to vigilantes, some of which activists believe are hired assassins working for the authorities.

Mr Duterte’s actions have resulted in widespread condemnation, including from the US, which considers the Philippines an important regional ally. The US Embassy in Manila announced on December 14 that the US would deny the Philippines government a new Millennium Challenge Corporation grant due to “significant concerns around rule of law and civil liberties”.

Human Rights Watch said recently of the killings: “These deaths demonstrate how Duterte is delivering with a vengeance on campaign promises to apply extrajudicial violence as a crime control method.”

Mr Duterte has denied that he is behaving outside the law. Yet he has also said he is not responsible for Filipinos taking the law into their own hands and will condone vigilantism if it means curbing the country's methamphetamine problem. Earlier this month, Mr Duterte bragged of having personally killed suspects when he was mayor of the city of Davao.

Reuters said that Taylor, who has won five Grammy awards since his self-titled debut album came out in 1968, said his planned performances in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand would go ahead as scheduled.