UNITED Nationalist Alliance standard-bearer Jejomar Binay on Friday again assailed his rival, Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, describing him as an “executioner” who only kills poor people.
“Mister berdugo, ako ay pro-life at ang aking ginagawa ay para gumanda ang buhay ng mahihirap. Ikaw naman, pumapatay ka ng mahirap,” Binay said.
“Pumapatay ka nang walang pakundangan ng mga bata at magkakapatid. Sanay kang pumatay ng mahirap dahil alam mong hindi sila makakalaban sa ‘yo. Kaya naman hindi ka pumapatay ng mayaman kasi alam mo lalabanan ka nila.”
Binay was reacting to Duterte’s statement belittling the issue of extra-judicial killings as “recycled garbage.”
He reminded Duterte of his previous statements admitting his links to the Davao Death Squad, and that he had killed 1,700 people 1,000 more than what was reported by Amnesty International.
Binay earlier took Duterte to task for killing children, referring to the siblings Richard Alia, 18, Christopher Alia,17, and Bobby Alia, 14 who were reportedly executed by the DDS in 2001 and 2002.
Several human rights groups have linked Duterte to extra-judicial killings, including a report from UN Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary executions Philip Alston.
In his report to the UN Human Rights Council in 2009, Alston said Duterte “has done nothing to prevent these killings, and his public comments suggest that he is, in fact, supportive.”
Human Rights Watch earlier denounced the more than 1,000 killings committed by the DDS since the late 1990s.
“Until the government adopts a zero tolerance attitude toward public officials who publicly endorse extra-judicial killings as an acceptable approach to governance, Duterte and others like him will pose a grave danger to the safety of the citizens they are elected to protect,” HRW Asia Division Deputy Director Phelim Kine said.