Duterte on drug war: ‘I’m not a murderer’
Credit to Author: Catherine S. Valente, TMT| Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2020 05:19:56 +0000
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has insisted he was “not a murderer” his critics portray him to be, despite the number of people who have been killed in his war on drugs
In his speech during an awarding ceremony in Malacañang on Wednesday night, Duterte declared anew that he would take full responsibility for all the consequences of his war on drugs.
“I am not a murderer. Lahat ng tao ‘pag inipit mo (When you put people in a corner), I can be everything but not with malice in the mind…There is no malice. It was just a statement of my being the mayor and the President,” Duterte said.
The President added that he has taken full legal responsibility for all the so-called extrajudicial killings made during his crackdown and was ready to rot in prison and get a death sentence.
“Itong extrajudicial killing sinasabi nila noon 30, then 70, now it’s 27. They do not have the accurate numbers. But let me unburden your heart. Ako ‘yun. Ako ‘yun (It’s me). I take full legal responsibility. And if there’s somebody who will be executed or put in prison, ako ‘yun (It’s me),” Duterte said.
“Ang mga police, pati military, hindi ‘yan kasali (The police and military are not involved). In the ladder of authority, I am their commander in chief at sinagot ko lahat ‘yan (I am answerable for all of that),” he added.
Duterte has overseen a narcotics crackdown in which police have killed more than 5,000 suspected drug offenders since he was elected three years ago.
Rights groups, however, said the actual number of dead was at least three times higher, which the government has denied, saying drug suspects killed in police operations had resisted arrest.
Duterte had said he would continue to push for a relentless campaign against illegal drugs, despite appeals by human rights advocates to end the drug-related killings.