Davao City Mayor Rody Duterte has labelled US-based human rights groups who want him investigated for the killings of drug dealers and criminals in his city as “hypocrites” who have failed to defend the rights of Black Americans being murdered by uniformed policemen in the US.
“You want me investigated when you cannot even protect the rights of African-Americans in your country?,” Duterte asked in reaction to an earlier call by the Human Rights Watch for him to be investigated for his alleged involvement in the Davao Death Squad (DDS) which is believed to be behind the extra-judicial executions of criminals, especially drug dealers in Davao City over the years.
Davao City, a former killing fields of Communist assassins who killed policemen and soldiers in broad daylight, was recently acknowledged as one of the 10 Safest Cities in the World to Live In, an accomplishment achieved during the 23-year Duterte leadership of Davao City.
While Duterte has consistently denied any involvement with the DDS, he has openly warned criminals, especially drug dealers who he said destroy the youth, against plying their trade in Davao City.
“I warn criminals and drug dealers to get out of my city or else there will only be two places you will end up in – jail or the funeral parlour,” the tough-talking Duterte repeteadly declared in the past.
In his latest speech on effective crime control in the city, Duterte said he did not care if cases were filed against him in court, insofar as his policy on criminals was concerned.
“Why should I be afraid to go to prison?” he asked participants to the national convention of the Workplace Advocates on Safety in the Philippines (Waspi) held here last week.
“When you start to be soft in this country and allow Western thoughts to seep in, that’s when you start to have problem,” he said, referring to the death penalty and the concept of rehabilitation for criminals as ideas “imported” from the West.
“They want to rehabilitate instead of just killing the idiots,” he said.
Duterte said the phenomenon of extra-judicial killings in many areas in the Philippines today is symptomatic of a failed justice system where the moneyed and the influential criminals could go scot free.
“You know why there is extra-judicial action? You look at what happened to the hardened criminals who were convicted for drugs, rape and other heinous crimes. There in Muntinlupa they live like kings and they continue to conduct their drug distribution operations, they can have the most beautiful women they like and they could go out anytime they want to,” Duterte said.
Following the expose on the continued criminal activities of hardened convicted criminals in Muntinlupa, Duterte proposed the transfer of the national jail to an isolated island, much like Alcatraz in the US, to ensure that those who have done wrong to society would pay for the crimes they committed.
The Davao City Mayor, a former public prosecutor who was called “The Punisher” in an article published in the Time Magazine a few years ago, said the Philippine criminal justice system needs a major overhaul to ensure that justice is meted out fairly.
“How long does it take to resolve a crime in the Philippines? Look at the Ampatuan Massacre. In November this year, it would already be six years since over 50 people, including members of the media, were massacred. How can a major crime like this remain unresolved for so long?,” Duterte asked.
Duterte has also earlier proposed the reimposition of the death penalty for heinous crimes in the Philippines. A moratorium on the death penalty in the Philippines was imposed after human rights groups denounced it as a violation of human rights.
The Davao City Mayor, unfazed by the call of the Human Rights Groups for him to be investigated for alleged involvement in extra-judicial killings, renewed his warning to criminals who prey on the youth and the innocent in his city by selling drugs telling them to be prepared for the consequences of their evil deeds.
“You want to do drugs in my city? I will execute you in public,” Duterte said in an apparent taunt at foreign-based human rights groups.
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