appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

liveArticle

appConfig

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sectionsV2

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

json

Agence France-Presse

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte says he will shoot criminals himself, while warning he may bring police back to the front lines of his deadly war on drugs.
Duterte made the comments late on Friday following his announcement on October 11 to withdraw the police from his anti-drugs war after they were accused of rights abuses in killing thousands of people while following his orders to eradicate illegal drugs in society.
He replaced them with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), which has about 2,000 officers compared with 165,000 for the police force.
Duterte has repeatedly insisted he has not ordered or incited police to murder drug addicts or suspects, while at other times he has said he would be happy to slaughter them or have tens of thousands killed.

On Friday he said he would be prepared to kill criminals himself, as he raised doubts about the PDEA being able to contain illegal drugs.
“Those who rape children, who rape women, those sons of … if you don’t want the police, I am here now. I will shoot them. That’s true. If nobody would dare it, I will pull the trigger,” he said.
Duterte said he was already considering bringing the police back to run the drug war.
“OK, let us see, six months from now. If things get worse again, I will say to these apes: ‘Go back to this job. You solve this problem of ours’,” he said, referring to the police.
Duterte was elected to office last year after vowing during the campaign that 100,000 people would die as he eradicated illegal drugs in society.
Since then, police have reported killing more than 3,900 “drug personalities”. Another 2,290 purple have died in unsolved “drug-related” killings, government figures show.
Many Filipinos continue to support the charismatic Duterte, seeing him as the solution to crime and corruption.

But human rights and Catholic Church leaders charge thousands of extrajudicial killings have been carried out by police and vigilantes as part of the drug war.
Authorities insist police only kill in self defence.
Duterte in January made a similar move to give the appearance of sidelining the police from the drug war after revelations that officers murdered a South Korean businessman in the police headquarters under the guise of an anti-drugs operation.
He had then described the police as “corrupt to the core” and gave PDEA the lead role in the drug war.
But he quickly reinstated the police without making any major reforms. Police officials swiftly announced a revitalised anti-drugs campaign named: “Double Barrel Re-Loaded”.
Asked for a reaction to Duterte’s latest comments, PDEA spokesman Derrick Arnold Carreon conceded the agency faced a tough battle and was prepared to stand aside for the police.
“If the president so decides, we will welcome that,” Carreon said.
“We are strained. Definitely it will be an uphill climb.”


Without restraint, Beijing and Manila can’t deliver the South China Sea code

Jailed witness reveals Duterte plotted to oust Philippines’ Marcos

Sara Duterte leads early 2028 Philippine presidential poll as rivals struggle to unite

Will Philippine ex-president Duterte stand trial at the ICC, and for how long?

Rodrigo Duterte

Philippine President Duterte says he will shoot criminals himself, calls police officers ‘apes’

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte saluting troops returning from combat duty against militants in the south. Photo: EPA

epa06278653 A handout photo made available by the Presidential Photographers Division (PPD) on 20 October 2017 shows Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (R) shaking hands with government troops as they travel back from their combat duty against pro-Islamic State militant groups, at an airport in Cagayan de Oro, southern Philippines, 20 October 2017. Duterte on 17 October declared the city of Marawi liberated after five months of fighting between the Philippine armed forces and rebels allied to the so-calles 'Islamic State', or IS. EPA-EFE/KIWI BULACLAC / PPD / HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

epa06278649 A handout photo made available by the Presidential Photographers Division (PPD) on 20 October 2017 shows Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (R) saluting government troops as they travel back from their combat duty against pro-Islamic State militant groups, at an airport in Cagayan de Oro, southern Philippines, 20 October 2017. Duterte on 17 October declared the city of Marawi liberated after five months of fighting between the Philippine armed forces and rebels allied to the so-calles 'Islamic State', or IS. EPA-EFE/ACE MORANDANTE / PPD / HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES