Phillipine President Duterte warned on Sunday that he could be “50 times” more brutal than Muslim militants who stage beheadings, and would ‘eat the livers’ of extremists if they're captured alive by troops.
If you want me to be an animal, I’m also used to that. We’re just the same. I can dish it out, go down what you can 50 times over.Rodrigo Duterte, President, Phillipines
Duterte ordered troops to kill fleeing Muslim militants behind a foiled attack in the central resort province of Bohol instead of bringing them back alive. Calling them ‘animals’, he said:
“Give me salt and vinegar and I’ll eat his liver.”
The crowd broke into laughter, but Duterte cut in, “It’s true, if you make me angry.”
Duterte, a longtime city mayor who built an image as a tough crime-buster, won the presidency in May last year on a promise to battle illegal drugs, corruption and terrorism. Thousands have died in his anti-drug crackdown, which alarmed Western governments and human rights groups.
He has warned he may place the southern Philippines, scene of a decades-long Muslim separatist rebellion, under martial rule if terrorism threats spin out of control.
(With inputs from AP)
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