‘Kill’ those dealing in illegal drugs, Duterte tells Customs chief

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte wants Bureau of Customs (BOC) chief Rey Leonardo Guerrero to “kill” those involved in illegal drugs, which he says continues to flow into the country through the corruption-hit agency.

“I told him straight: Drugs are still flowing inside the country through [the Bureau of] Customs. I wanted to say to him earlier: You asked for guns, didn’t you? I said: I approved the purchase of firearms and until now you have not killed even one. I told him: Shape up,” Duterte, speaking partly in Filipino, said in a taped speech aired Monday night.

He also warned Guerrero against trusting people who had been in the Bureau of Customs for a long time.

“It is [like when you are] new, when you are a babe in the forest, and you begin to rely on people who whisper: ‘Sir, we will help you in this.’ And when they gain your confidence, you become to rely on what they say until you believe that they are doing the right thing,” he said.

“So I told him: Drugs are still coming in. What I want is for you to kill. After all, I will back you up so you won’t go to prison. When it involves drugs, kill. That’s the deal,” he said.

[Duterte’s exact words in Filipino: “Ang gusto ko pumatay ka diyan. Tutal backup-an kita. Hindi ka makulong. Basta droga barilin, patayin mo. ‘Yan ang usapan eh.”]

The President last week bared that he was considering replacing Guerrero for failing to immediately get rid of an alleged corrupt BOC employee.

In January, reports that Guerrero was on his way out of the corruption-ridden agency came out after Duterte supposedly offered the top BOC post to Davao City businessman William de Jesus Lima.

But Duterte denied the report, saying that he was still satisfied with the work of the former military chief.

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