Next on Duterte’s to-do-list: Stopping abuse of women and children

It’s not just illegal drug operations that are on President Duterte’s radar.

Cases of child abuse and violence against women are on the rise, and the government will address these developments, Mr. Duterte said on Thursday before departing for Lima, Peru to attend an economic summit with world leaders.

“Cases of child abuse, sexual or battery are on the rise and crimes against women are increasing a bit. I think we really have to talk to the [Department of Social Welfare and Development],” Mr. Duterte said in his predeparture remarks.

He said he learned of the development from the briefer provided to him, though he did not mention the statistics.

He cited a case where a two-year-old-child was beaten to death after being left in the care of cousins. The child’s mother was working in the Middle East at the time.

“This is really very disturbing, for a human being who cannot defend himself to die in a brutal manner through negligence. We’ll have to do something about this,” he said.

According to him, there are many cases where parents leave their children in the care of relatives while they earn a living in other countries.

And in not a few incidents, their hard work becomes all for naught when their children end up abused or dead back home. Some children of overseas workers also end up addicted to drugs, he added.

“These are the things we have to balance. Their hard work, almost killing themselves in the Middle East, might go to waste,” he said.

At the same time, Mr. Duterte said Filipino workers in the Middle East are treated brutally, like most foreigners.

He recalled an experience as Davao City mayor where he had to fly to Saudi Arabia to seek help for five Filipinos who had been arrested by the religious police there for giving out rosaries.