Philippine leader charges on in bloody drug war
After first year in office and 7,000 deaths, Duterte doesn’t waver in fervor to send criminals to ‘either jail or hell’
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte vowed Monday to maintain his controversial drug war that has claimed more than 7,000 lives in his first year in office and talked tough on issues ranging from the battle against extremists to reinstating the death penalty.
Duterte, 71, began his twohour state of the nation address with a defiant stance on his drug war. “The fight will be unremitting as it will be unrelenting,” he said, warning drug dealers that “I will hound you to the very gates of hell.”
“Despite international and local pressures, the fight will not stop until those who deal in it understand that they have to cease,” he said. “They have to stop because the alternatives are either jail or hell.”
The brutal crackdown has drawn condemnation from Human Rights Watch and others. The watch group said in a recent report that Duterte has “unleashed a human rights calamity on the Philippines in his first year in office.”
In Washington last week during a congressional hearing, U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., called Duterte’s war on drugs “unacceptable in a modern society.”
“We need to call this deranged policy out for its state-sanctioned vigilantism that contravenes the rule of law and damages the international standing of the Philippines,” she said.
At the hearing, Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., also criticized Duterte. “A man with the human rights record of President Duterte should not be invited to the White House,” he said. “And if he comes, I will lead the protest because ... we ought to be on the side of advocating for human rights.”
Duterte responded on Friday by saying, “I’ve seen America and it’s lousy. ... It would be good for the U.S. Congress to start with their own investigation of their own violations of the so many civilians killed in the prosecution of the wars in the Middle East.”
President Trump, in an April phone call with Duterte, invited the Philippine president to the White House and told him he was doing “an unbelievable job on the drug problem,” according to a transcript obtained by The New York Times.
In his Monday address, Duterte defended the declaration of martial law in the province of Mindanao, where a battle has raged since May 23 between extremists linked to the Islamic State and the Philippine military for the city of Marawi.
Duterte called martial law “the fastest way to quell the rebellion at the least cost of lives and properties.” He said it would help “prevent (extremists) from spreading their gospel of hate and violence in the rest of Mindanao.”
Duterte, who won approval Saturday from the Philippine Congress to extend martial law in Mindanao until the end of year, also called on lawmakers to reinstate the death penalty.
Claiming there is much to do to “completely eradicate the menace of illegal drugs, criminality and corruption,” he asked that the death penalty be allowed for serious crimes, especially drug trafficking.
“Capital punishment is not only about deterrence,” he said. “It is also about retribution — make no mistake about that.”
Despite international criticism, Duterte’s popularity at home remains incredibly high according to recent polls. A survey released last week by Pulse Asia found Duterte had an 82% approval rating nationwide, up from 78% in March. But after his speech, thousands of protesters marched outside Congress demanding he deliver on a range of promises, from protecting human rights to improving Internet speed, the Associated Press reported.
“The fight will be unremitting as it will be unrelenting. I will hound you to the very gates of hell.” Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte