MLANG, COTABATO PROVINCE— President Rodrigo Duterte’s list of people he said he wanted to kill for causing the suffering of Filipinos now included illegal recruiters who had sold Filipinos to rich Arabs as slaves.
Renewing his threat to kill government officials and men in uniform involved in the drug trade, Duterte said he saw no ofher way to deal with the rogue officials and officers than kill them.
Dutertre was here to visit residents still reeling from the impact of the series of earthquakes that shook this part of Mindanao last October and this December.
Duterte repeated his threat to kill officials involved in drugs days after two US senators sought a ban on entry to the United States of Filipino officials involved in the detention of Sen. Leila de Lima, a critic who had accused Duterte of widespread human rights abuses.
“We are dealing with government officials or officers who are into corruption, especially on drugs,” Duterte said.
“I am warning you again… be it the police, the mayors or village officials: You will die. If you engage in drugs, there is no other way to deal with you except to kill you,” the President said.
In Digos City, where he addressed another group of quake victims, the President repeated his rant against government officials involved in drugs but included recruiters responsible for selling Filipinos like slaves in Arab countries.
“I would also like to kill those recruiters responsible for the agony of Filipinos in Arab countries,” he said. “Not all, but there are Arab countries that still practice slavery.”
He said when a person had been sold to the “slave” market, rape would be inevitable.
“Human degradation is obvious, that’s why many women jump from the houses of their landlords,” Duterte said.
“Those who could not be accounted for are most probably sold to the slave market.”