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If there are people cheering on Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte each time he makes fiery statements about killing criminals, then there are also people who think he’s practically admitting to being a criminal himself.
Just recently, Duterte made a remark that was interpreted by many as his acknowledgement of his ties to the vigilante group tagged as the Davao Death Squad.
Department of Justice Secretary Leila De Lima told ABS-CBN News correspondent Ina Reformina that she was not amused by Duterte’s statements.
De Lima quipped, “Killing is killing, no matter what; and therefore, if (Duterte) admitted that he is responsible for these killings, then he should be held criminally liable.”
De Lima added, “I find those statements of his, at the very least, annoying and definitely disturbing. What kind of statements are those? We’re the laughing stock of the international rights community. Here we are, we have a public servant, a public figure at that…and yet he makes those statements.”
She went on to say, “Some are titillated by those statements but that’s not right. If you agree with that kind of thinking, society is going to ridicule us. International organizations, like Human Rights Watch, they take these things seriously. But here, there are some who are amused by it and idolize Mayor Duterte even more because of that stance. But is that right? It’s really not. It’s doubly disturbing for society to accept that mindset.”
Photo: DOJ website
