PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte said Thursday he’s willing to turn vigilante if drug dependents put the life of the people at risk.
“If I were just a civilian and you are lurking within the neighborhood and my female child was killed or you raped her or you contaminate my child with drugs and my child becomes an addict, I will kill you vigilante-style,” Duterte said in a speech before the country’s councilors Thursday.
“I will get back at you if the policemen cannot do anything or are no longer in control,” he added.
Duterte said killing the poor who get quick money from selling drugs is necessary to destroy the apparatus.
“They say it’s only the poor who are being killed. There’s nothing we can do. Maybe they’re waiting for them to recruit millionaires. There are no rich people loitering in your neighborhood, in your municipality,” Duterte said in Filipino.
“It’s really difficult but that’s the problem. We have to destroy the apparatus. It needs people killed. There’s nothing we can do… that’s just how it is. You cannot stop the movement of drugs in the entire country if you don’t kill them all,” he added.
Duterte said that he’s prepared to go to jail and is willing to assume full legal responsibility over the war on illegal drugs.
“Those of you who insist on doing drugs here, or kidnapping, I will kill you. That was my slogan… and it has kept the peace up to this time,” the President said.
“If you are trying to destroy the Philippines, I would just have to kill you,” he added.
At the same time, Duterte said he has decided not to answer the criticism hurled at him for the drug war.
“I have consistently refused to answer because the allegations just keep getting recycled. You can’t do anything but to shut up,” he said.
Responding to suggestions that he might be impeached, he said talk is easy. “I will hand this over to you. You run the show,” he said, addressing his critics.
In dealing with criticism, Duterte said that he has adopted the philosophy of the late US President Abraham Lincoln.
“It’s my favorite adage, and it is good for you to remember, ‘If I were to try to read, much less answer, all attacks made on me, this shop might as well be closed for any other business. I do the very best I can and I mean to keep doing so until the end. If the end brings me out all right, what is said against me won’t amount to anything, but if the end brings me out wrong, 10 angels of god swearing I was right could make no difference,” Duterte said, quoting Lincoln.
On Wednesday, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV warned that Duterte might face impeachment at the House of Representatives in May for committing various “impeachable offenses,” including ordering extrajudicial killings.
Allegations that Duterte led the Davao Death Squad during his 20-year stint as mayor of Davao City resurfaced after retired police officer Arthur Lascañas recanted his earlier testimony before the Senate and accused Duterte of leading the death squad.
Duterte said the retired policeman’s allegations are lies, and maintained that the only killings he sanctioned as mayor were for criminals who shot it out with cops.
“I’m facing so many allegations, some are invented but some are true. That’s not a problem. I admit many died along the way for the 23 years I was mayor, but never [have] I executed a person kneeling down or with his hands pleading,” he added.
Also on Thursday, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines urged the police to respect the rights of suspects during their anti-drug operations.
The IBP, the mandatory organization of lawyers in the country, made the statement as it issued guidelines on the reimplementation of the PNP’s war on drugs.
The IBP, through national president Rosario Setias Reyes, also cited the need for the PNP to guarantee the safety and security of the subjects.
It said that the PNP must always be in full uniform when conducting visits, which must be done in coordination with the local barangay officials to ensure the safety and peace of mind of the subject.
The lawyers’ group also suggested that operations be “conducted during the daytime to minimize the danger of miscommunication, misunderstanding or misapprehension between the subject and the police officer.”