Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has pledged to personally deal with a group of Islamist militants by “publicly eating them alive”. Duterte described in detail how he would carry out his revenge for last week’s bombing on a night market in the country. “They will pay. When the time comes, I will eat you in front of people,” Duterte said on Monday night, addressing an audience including children while on a visit to Laos for a regional summit, AFP reported.
The statement comes in response to a bombing that took place last week at a crowded market in Duterte’s hometown, Davao City, which killed 14 people and injured 68 others. The government blamed Islamic State-linked militant group Abu Sayyaf for the blast.
The group, which is based on remote southern islands in the Philippines, pledged allegiance to Islamic State (IS, ISIS/ISIL, DAESH) in a 2014 video.
The group has been put on the list of terrorist organizations by the US, and has kidnapped foreigners for ransom and beheaded two Canadians in 2016.
The president didn’t mince his words when speaking of what he is planning to do with the militants, who are also accused of killing 15 local soldiers in August. “I will really carve your torso open. Give me vinegar and salt and I will eat you. I’m not kidding,” Duterte said, as cited by AFP. “These guys are beyond redemption,” he added.
The Philippines leader is known as a tough talker, with recent outbursts targeting US President Barack Obama.
Reportedly, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte called Barack Obama a “son of a whore” on Monday 5/9 as he vowed not to be lectured by the US leader on human rights when they meet in Laos.
The acid-tongued Duterte bristled at warnings he would face questioning by the US president over a war against drugs in the Philippines that has claimed more than 2,400 lives in just over two months. “You must be respectful. Do not just throw away questions and statements. Son of a whore, I will curse you in that forum,” Duterte told a news conference shortly before flying to Laos to attend a summit. “We will be wallowing in the mud like pigs if you do that to me.”
Duterte was due to hold a bilateral meeting with Obama on Tuesday afternoon on the sidelines of a gathering of global leaders hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Vientiane, the Lao capital. But shortly after Duterte spoke, Obama appeared to cast doubt on whether such a meeting could take place.
Calling Duterte “a colourful guy”, the US president said was asking his staff to find out whether a meeting would be useful. “I always want to make sure if I’m having a meeting that it’s actually productive and we’re getting something done,” he told reporters.
Duterte, 71, was elected in May after a promise to wage an unprecedented war on illegal drugs that would see tens of thousands of suspects killed.
Official figures released Sunday 4/9 show that, since he took office on June 30, over 2,400 people have been killed in police anti-drug operations and by suspected vigilantes.
Speaking on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, Obama said Washington recognised that drugs were a significant problem for the Philippines. But he insisted that he would not shy away from raising concerns about the way the issue was being handled under the new administration. “The issue of how we approach fighting crime and drug trafficking is a serious one for all of us. We’ve got to do it the right way,” he said. “Undoubtedly, if and when we have a meeting, this is something that’s going to be brought up. And my expectation, my hope is that it could be dealt with constructively.”
Duterte has angrily rejected criticism from the Catholic Church, human rights groups, legislators and the United Nations. And he vowed Monday the bloodbath would continue as he pursued his goal of eradicating illegal narcotics in the Philippines. “More people will be killed, plenty will be killed until the last pusher is out of the streets. Until the (last) drug manufacturer is killed, we will continue and I will continue,” he said.
Duterte insisted he would not take orders from the United States, a former colonial ruler of the Philippines, and did not care about how he was perceived.
Duterte has quickly earned a reputation for making offensive comments about his critics, or others he does not like. He has also branded Pope Francis and the US ambassador to Manila sons of whores.
Duterte, 71, promised to fully eradicate the drug trade in the country as part of his election pledges, and launched a full-scale crackdown on drug dealers after taking office. The move has found vast support among Filipinos.
Human rights organizations, however, have condemned his methods, with 1,011 suspected criminals killed since June and another 1,391 deaths under investigation, according to the latest police figures revealed by AFP.
Source: Daily Mail