Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte yesterday showed that there was no love lost between him and human rights activists when he criticized them in a speech in Dimasalang, Masbate yesterday.
The president said that activists were out to destroy the Philippine government.
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR), an independent government office, has been a vocal critic of the president’s bloody anti-drug war campaign which has left thousands dead.
A New York-based organization, the Human Rights Watch, has also alleged that the Philippine National Police has falsified pieces of evidence against suspects to justify their killings.
At present, the International Criminal Court is conducting an investigation into Duterte’s drug war to determine if the government promoted the killings of suspected drug users and dealers, as alleged by the complaints that it has received from the Philippines.
Duterte was in Masbate to award cash loans to beneficiaries of a government program but his speech was once again filled with rants about his critics.
The president complained that activists were more concerned about drug suspects than their victims.
He said in a mix of Filipino and English: “You human rights [activists], f*ck you. One drug addict died and you keep on whining about it everywhere. You don’t know how many Filipinos have been victimized [by that person]. We’re from different worlds. You’re crying [with your] bleeding hearts. ‘He died.’ So? How many people did that person kill?”
He also said that some addicts commit crimes, with some of them ending up robbing homes and raping those who live in them.
He added: “Those human rights [activists] I’ve never heard of them [talk about these crimes committed by drug addicts]. Those human rights [activists] are enemies of the government. You want to destroy the government. That’s ok if what you’re saying is true but you should also talk about the innocent people who were killed by these criminals.”
He also said that activists should focus their attention on those who have become slaves to methamphetamine or shabu.
“And talk about Filipinos who have become slaves. They are slaves to a drug called shabu. They need it every day and at the end of the day they become inutile,” Duterte said.
Duterte also made light of rumors which alleged that he was ill, and somehow was able to turn it into an insult directed at the opposition.
He said: “They think there’s something wrong with my kidney, that I have cancer….[They said] there’s blood oozing out of my anus. That’s why sometimes I check.”
As the crowd laughed, Duterte pretended to touch his butt in front of them and smelled his hand.
Classy as always, Mr. President. You never fail to impress.
He said: “Can you see, it’s kinda wet. Is it true? [But] my feces is all yellow. You Yellows — the public doesn’t like you at all. You’re already coming out of my anus but you still keep whining.”
The Yellows the president is referring to are members of the Liberal Party, whose official color is yellow. Duterte’s vice president, Leni Robredo, is a member of the party. She recently criticized the president for saying that he molested the family’s domestic worker when he was a high school student.
Duterte also once again slammed the Commision on Audit (COA), the government auditors.
“What the COA wants is to interpret [the law] to make processes move slower. I told them we’re both lawyers I can read [the law] in a way that’s in favor to me to make things easier while making sure there’s no corruption involved. Don’t put obstacles [for the government]. Because you’re making things slower for the government,” he said yesterday.
This came just a day after he called for the abduction and torture of COA officials, claiming that their rules are hampering the government’s work.
As always, Duterte was flighty during his speech. He later appeared contrite and said that he hopes he hasn’t offended people.
He said: “I hope i have not offended anybody by my strong words or my joke[s]. I’m making rude comments on purpose. I’m really pursuing the limits of civility. Because people have been rude to me since I was campaigning [for president].”
Yup, just another day at work for the president.
Reader Interactions