Philippines President-Elect Rodrigo Duterte Tells The Public To Shoot Drug Dealers
In the Philippines, the president-elect has told citizens to use their guns to shoot and kill drug dealers who resist arrest and fight back on their streets.
Rodrigo Duterte, the president-elect of the Philippines, told a crowd in a nationally televised speech late Saturday that he wants citizens to take the law into their own hands when a drug dealer threatens their communities, according to CBS News.
“Please feel free to call us, the police, or do it yourself if you have the gun — you have my support.”
The leader in the Philippines told the crowd that if a drug dealer resists arrest or threatens a citizen with a knife or a gun, then “you can kill him,” Duterte encouraged. “Shoot him and I’ll give you a medal.”
In the speech, he threatened police who may be working for the drug lords instead of the people.
“If you’re still into drugs, I will kill you, don’t take this as a joke. I’m not trying to make you laugh, son of a b***h, I will really kill you,” Duterte said while the crowd cheered.
Duterte was a former prosecutor in the Philippines, and he believes corrupt police officers act out of “extreme greed and extreme need.” However, he said he may not suggest harsh sentences to officers who are under extreme stress, such as those who have very ill loved ones, but to the others who acted out of extreme greed, Duterte said they “will also be dealt with by me. I’ll have you killed.”
He pressed for the corrupt police officers in the Philippines to quit now, or he would publicly humiliate them.
Duterte was giving his speech to a large gathering in the city of Davao, where he was celebrating his presidential victory, according to the International Business Times.
The 71-year-old man who is often dubbed the “Filipino Donald Trump” will start his six-year term to lead the Philippines on June 30.
The future president of the Philippines is known for his colorful and often offensive comments about several topics, including a joke about a rape victim who was murdered, extrajudicial killings, and even calling bishops “sons of w****s.”
It is widely believed that the future president of the Philippines was elected by the Filipino people because they are very tired of the large amount of crime that goes on in the country. Police officials are skeptical that the new president of the Philippines will be able to change the high crime rates.
Despite his desire to rid the country of crime, human rights watchdogs are concerned that his wishes for a crime-free Philippines may give way to widespread rights violations.
He is suspected of using motorcycle-riding assassins known as the “Davao death squads” to attack and kill criminals in Davao, where he is mayor, but no one has ever testified against him to prove it.
Already in the Philippines, even before Duterte has taken office as president, some police officers have cracked down and hauled in more criminals than usual.
[Photo by Jes Aznar/Getty Images]
