Step aside Trump, there is a new leader of soundbite outrage in town.
In three months thousands of people have been murdered in the Philippines, an average of 36 people a day. They are often found dead in the streets with signs hung around their necks labelling them as ‘dealers’.
The mass murders are the direct result of the Filipino president’s campaign to ‘kill all the criminals’. The president, Rodrigo Duterte, was democratically elected on the promise he would get rid of the country’s drug problem by killing all of those who deal and use Shabu.
Shabu is the term used for crystal meth in the Philippines and it is estimated that seven million people in the country use the drug.
His lethal stance has made him popular with some but has created a nation of armed vigilante killers.
President Duterte’s loose tongue has recently come under scrutiny since he called Barack Obama the ‘son of a whore’ after suggestions the US president might challenge him on human rights issues.
But as the records show his contentious statements go back further and with more sinister intent. Here are some of his most memorable…
Killing criminals
“If Germany had Hitler, the Philippines would have …,” Duterte told reporters in Davao City, before pausing and pointing to himself.
“Hitler massacred three million Jews … there’s three million drug addicts. There are. I’d be happy to slaughter them.”
Human rights
“Forget the laws on human rights. If I make it to the presidential palace, I will do just what I did as mayor. You drug pushers, hold-up men and do-nothings, you better go out. Because I’d kill you. I’ll dump all of you into Manila Bay, and fatten all the fish there.”
Rape
“They raped all of the women. There was this Australian lay minister when they took them out I saw her face and I thought, ‘Son of a bitch. What a pity … they raped her, they all lined up. I was mad she was raped but she was so beautiful. I thought, the mayor should have been first.”
His sex life
“I was separated from my wife. I’m not impotent. What am I supposed to do? Let this hang forever? When I take Viagra, it stands up.”
“I am a womanizer but not corrupt.”
Punishment
“I will recommend to Congress the restoration of death penalty by hanging in public.”
Criminals (again)
“Do the lives of 10 of these criminals really matter? If I am the one facing all this grief, would 100 lives of these idiots mean anything to me?” he said.
The Pope
“We were affected by the traffic. It took us five hours. I asked why, they said it was closed. I asked who is coming. They answered, the Pope. I wanted to call him: ‘Pope, son of a whore, go home. Do not visit us again’.”
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