The Philippines President vows to keep up his controversial campaign against drugs as long as he remains in office.
Rodrigo Duterte was met with a roar of approval and chants of “Duterte, Duterte,” when he took to the stage in Singapore to address members of the Filipino community Friday.
He said he would not stop “until the last drug pusher and the last drug lord are…” at which point he drew his finger across his neck in a dramatic execution-style gesture.
“Look; it can never be a crime to say, ‘I will kill you if you destroy my country,'” he added, asking the appreciative crowd to look at the crime rate. “Almost gone,” he said. “Ask your relatives back home.”
Public attention around the controversial campaign intensified Monday when Duterte admitted to personally killing drug suspects during his time as mayor of Davao City.
“In the crawlers of CNN and BBC, since yesterday, it’s said ‘Duterte admits killing, shooting criminals,'” the president announced to a booing crowd. “They’re not wrong.”
‘Under the United States for 50 years’
During his speech, Duterte also lashed out at US criticism of his policies.
The US government agency the Millennium Challenge Corporation said this week it has “deferred a vote on the reselection of the Philippines” for development, “subject to a further review of concerns around rule of law and civil liberties.”
The release did not elaborate on the value of the aid package.
“We were under the US for 50 years, you live off the fat of the land, you got the best of our worlds and you threatened to cut our aid, so I said to Obama: ‘Go to hell,'” said Duterte.
“We are members of the United Nations, correct? If there’s something that you are against in my policies or behavior, go to the United Nations and complain. Then the UN and its organs or agencies will investigate. Then and only then, when there’s a report submitted to the assembly, bring it to the floor,” he stressed.
“Don’t reprimand me like I’m your boy, I am the president of the Republic of the Philippines,” he added.
Mounting controversy
The strongly worded speech comes amid mounting criticism of Duterte’s violent efforts to rid the Philippines of its endemic drug problem.
It was revealed Monday that — according to statistics released by the national police — there have been 5,927 deaths linked to the war on drugs since July 1.
This week news emerged of a 6-year-old shot dead as he slept next to his father, an occasional drug user.
Senator Leila De Lima, Duterte’s top critic, called for the president to be impeached Thursday.
“These are mass murders,” De Lima told CNN. “High crime is a ground for impeachment under (the) constitution.”