MANILA – Contrary to his previous statements, President Rodrigo Duterte said he never killed anyone nor ordered to neutralize some individuals when he was still a mayor in Davao City.
Duterte made the remark during his public address aired on Monday evening after saying that he will assure that the rule of law against a person is strictly being followed.
“Wala ho akong pinatay na tao. Never, never. Magtanong ka sa pulis dito sa Pilipinas,” Duterte said. “If I do, I just keep it in my mind because I know that whether I like it or not, there is a war going on.”
“I cannot stop the killing of criminals and the killing of my soldiers and policemen,” added the country’s chief executive, who earlier claimed that he had killed some individuals.
Explaining Duterte’s flip-flopping, his spokesperson Harry Roque said the President’s speech was “from the heart.”
“The President was speaking from the heart (on Monday night),” Roque said. “Ang mga pulitiko, merong mga sasabihin ‘yan kasi alam nila patok. Pero meron din silang sinasabi na alam nilang ito ang pawang katotohanan.”
“Bagamat ang Presidente po ay makulay sa kanyang pananalita, it’s to actually generate attention and discussion lalong-lalo na sa kanyang drugs campaign,” he added.
Since the campaign period until he assumed presidency in 2016, President Duterte several times bragged in various speeches that he ordered the killing of suspected criminals.
President Duterte was accused of being behind the “Davao Death Squad,” a shadowy vigilante squad that human rights groups blame for extrajudicial deaths of some 1,000 crime suspects in Davao City since the 1990s./PN
