THE tough-talking president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, boasts of killing people, ordering executions or wanting to kill someone about as often as Donald Trump boasts of being rich. But as with Mr Trump, it is hard to know how much to trust Mr Duterte’s boasts. At best, that makes the boss of the Philippines’ police and prosecutors not only a liar, but a cheerleader for extra-judicial killings. At worst, it makes him a criminal who should be in prison, not the presidential palace.
During the many years Mr Duterte was mayor of Davao, the biggest city in the southern part of the country, a vigilante group known as the Davao Death Squad gunned down drug suspects and others whom the gunmen thought were criminals. Mr Duterte has at times seemed to admit involvement in the group and at others denied its existence. In September a former member of the outfit testified to a congressional committee that, as mayor of Davao, Mr Duterte had ordered him and others to kill. Mr Duterte, through a spokesman, denied the accusation.
As a candidate, Mr Duterte promised to “end crime”...Continue reading
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