Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/ MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
CEBU CITY—Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday said that if elected President, he would use the military and the police to fight criminals and “wipe them out.”
Duterte said he would not mind landing in jail for killing all criminals.
In stressing his point, he used the “f” word, although he did not say it out loud.
“You have to stop (murmured cuss word) people,” he said.
Duterte’s propensity to curse has made him a colorful presidential candidate, although it has drawn disapproval from not a few people, including Catholic Church officials who called him to task for cursing Pope Francis, whose visit to the Philippines in January last year caused traffic jams in Manila.
But in a rally at Plaza Independencia here on Thursday afternoon, Duterte urged people to look behind his foul language, saying “behind those words is the real tragedy and agony of the Filipinos.”
Later, at a news conference, Duterte told reporters that cursing was his way of expressing his anger at the many problems facing the Philippines, including traffic congestion and crime.
He cited the congestion on Edsa during last November’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Manila that caused too much difficulty for commuters, including a pregnant woman who gave birth to her baby on the road.
“I’m presenting myself as President of the Republic of the Philippines. Judge me not by the cuss words and the curses. Judge me for what I stand for,” Duterte said.
The standard-bearer of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) told reporters that he hated cursing, but admitted he could not help it because he was used to it.
He, however, said he should not be judged based on his foul language, as it was not all that he was. In fact, he said, he received a grade of 86 in good manners and right conduct when he was in school.
But criminals really make him angry and, according to his running mate, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, the two of them, if elected, would work together to make the Philippines a safe place in two years.
Duterte prides himself on the peace and order situation in Davao City, which he says is one of the safest places in the world to live.
He brushes aside talk of summary killings in Davao involving so-called death squads, saying the more than 800 criminals killed in the city since 1998 all deserved to die.
“What I want is to instill fear [among criminals]. If it sends the wrong signal, then I’m sorry,” he once said. “But what did I do wrong?”
Criminals are legitimate targets for assassination in Davao City, he said, adding that police are under orders from him to shoot criminals at the slightest show of resistance.
In his talks with reporters, Duterte said that if elected President, he would replicate his peace and order program in Davao in the rest of the Philippines.