Duterte to Pinoys: Be assertive vs corruption

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has called on the public to “be assertive” in fighting malfeasance in and out of government, telling the people not be afraid to curse at corrupt people.

Speaking before typhoon victims in Isabela, Duterte said the public should not be cowed by errant public officials, saying tolerance would only allow the spread of corruption.

The President cited the cases of those who had planted bullets inside passengers’ luggage at the airport, taxi drivers who demand huge tips instead of following the meter, police who ask for money at

checkpoints, and rebels who collect “revolutionary tax.”

He urged the public not to give bribes to personnel of the Land Transportation Office, Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs, among others.

“If these are done to you, you should create an uproar. Slap them even! Hit the son of a b****h. Tell them I told you to say ‘ I will kill you.’ You should be assertive,” Duterte said.

“If you tolerate these sons of b*****s, how can we achieve progress? You should be able to muster some courage. Anyway, a lot of people are dying nowadays. If you’re one of them, sorry,” Duterte added.

The President was alluding to his administration’s bloody war on drugs, which has claimed the lives of more than 3,000 suspects, about half of them killed during police operations.

“Don’t be afraid. You should tell these crooks, I am a Filipino. Son of a b****h, don’t you dare fool me in my homeland … These are things you pick up from a Duterte seminar,” the President said.