NEWLY-INSTALLED Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has reiterated his tough stance on crime by urging the public to not only kill drug dealers, but addicts as well.
His remarks came barely a day after he was sworn in as the country’s 16th president in Manila on Thursday, Vice reported.
Speaking to a crowd of 500 in a Manila slum, Duterte said: “If you know of any addicts, go ahead and kill them yourself as getting their parents to do it would be too painful.”
He added that, “These sons of whores are destroying our children.”
After claiming victory in the general elections in May, the former Davao city mayor said medals would be given to citizens who shot and killed drug dealers.
His words look to have been put into action since he took presidency as bodies of drug suspects piled up over the last few several days.
According to PhilStar, 18 suspected drug pushers were killed in separate incidents over the weekend, while another 952 confessed drug users and pushers, fearing for their safety, surrendered themselves to authorities in the past two days.
Three suspects were killed by policemen in Duterte’s hometown of Davao and another five suspects were shot in Quaipo.
Lawmen in Caloocan also killed a former policemen and suspected drug pusher.
One man was shot in Tondo, Manila on Sunday and another in San Pedro, Laguna. Another six suspects were killed in Quezon province.
The latest deathtoll brought the number of drug suspects killed to 30 after Duterte was sworn in as president on June 30, PhilStar reported.