Duterte warns Abu Sayyaf: I will eat you alive …

President Rodrigo Duterte, shown making a gesture in this file photo, threatens to literally eat members of the Abu Sayyaf alive if they pursue terrorism. INQUIRER FILE

VIENTIANE, Laos — I will eat you alive.

President Duterte issued this grim warning to the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group as he sought for understanding from Filipinos here regarding his  take-no-prisoner strategy against criminality and the narcotics trade.

After hurling invectives at US President Barack Obama, the foul-mouthed Duterte turned his ire on the Abu Sayyaf, the al-Qaeda-linked terror group that has denied involvement in last week’s bomb attack that killed 14 people and wounded 67 others in the President’s hometown of Davao City.

Defending his tough stance against criminality, he said lawless elements like terrorists were already “beyond redemption.”

“If I have to face them, you know I can eat humans. I will really open up your body. Just give me vinegar and salt, and I will eat you,” the President told a gathering of the Filipino community at Feungfar Convention Center on Monday night.

“That’s true. If you annoy me to the fullest… I will eat you alive. Raw,” he said, eliciting chuckles from his audience, who included children.

Referring to the Abu Sayyaf, he said: “Go ahead. Set off bombs. Time will come when I will eat you in front of the people. I will devour you and if I have to, erase you.”

The President flew here to attend the 28th and 29th summits of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, his first foreign travel since he took office on June 30.

Known for his expletive-laced speeches, Duterte cursed at Obama moments before he flew here Monday night, prompting the American leader to call off their bilateral meeting scheduled for today./rga