Duterte: Let cops involved in racket swallow bullets

DAVAO CITY—Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said if he were President, he would force policemen and airport employees involved in the “tanim-bala” racket to swallow the bullets they claimed to have found in the bags of hapless travelers.

“I have no ambition for it but if I were President, I will force you to swallow bullets. I do not care if you will die. If it will get stuck in your anus then I will have you undergo medical operation to enlarge its opening,” Duterte said on his Sunday TV show “Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa.”

The mayor, who is being urged by his supporters to run for President in the elections next year, said he was skeptical about the arrests made in Manila and recently at Francisco Bangoy International Airport in Davao City because incidents of bullet planting in bags had been going on in the past years in the nation’s capital.

“Many were already arrested, but all cases were settled. I do not believe it anymore,” Duterte said.

A 60-year-old engineer who was in the city for a water project was arrested by airport security personnel in Davao City after they found two bullets in his bag.

“I think the bullets were already planted in his bag in Manila,” Duterte said, adding that the prosecutors in Davao must study the case carefully to ensure justice.

He said the planting of bullets could happen inside the cargo area, which is not visible to the public, and is accessible only to airline employees and policemen. “So there is really a syndicate. It’s happening inside and it’s also happening outside,” he said.

“I am warning those who are in cahoots with the police. You just pray that it is not true because I do not believe it anymore. Most of those who were arrested were innocent people. It is incredible. Some were missionaries and they have .22-caliber or 9mm bullets? And they do not have firearms,” he added.

“If you are in Davao, I will kill you all. If I were President, you would all be exterminated. I would order your execution within 48 hours. I would order the clean policemen and soldiers to do it. If not, I would ask the New People’s Army. Where is the Sparu (special partisan unit)? Let us use that,” Duterte said.