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| “ | Hitler massacred three million Jews. There are three million drug addicts in the Philippines. I'd be happy to slaughter them. | „ |
| ~ Rodrigo Duterte |
Rodrigo Roa Duterte (born March 28, 1945) is the current President of the Philippines. Within a year after assuming office in 2016, Duterte quickly gained notoriety for implementing a drug war which resulted in the deaths of at least 30,000 Filipinos through extrajudicial killings.
Biography
Education and early political career
Duterte studied political science at the Lyceum of the Philippines University, graduating in 1968, before obtaining a law degree from San Beda College of Law in 1972. He then worked as a lawyer and was a prosecutor for Davao City, before becoming vice mayor and, subsequently, mayor of the city in the wake of the Philippine Revolution of 1986. Duterte was among the longest-serving mayors in the Philippines, serving seven terms for a span of more than 22 years in office.
Frequently described as a populist and a nationalist, Duterte's political success has been aided by his vocal support for the extrajudicial killing of drug users and other criminals. Human rights groups have documented over 1,400 killings allegedly by death squads operating in Davao between 1998 and May 2016; the victims were mainly drug users, petty criminals and street children. A 2009 report by the Philippine Commission on Human Rights confirmed the "systematic practice of extrajudicial killings" by the Davao Death Squad.
Presidency (2016–present)
During the 2016 presidential election, Duterte's political campaign openly promised a war on drugs, that is to rally and order the murder of drug dealers and users in the country. This promise of a drug-free reign after 3 to 6 months in office, coupled with Duterte's humble beginnings appealed to the poverty-stricken masses of the Philippines. His speeches became notorious for using profanities and vulgarities directed towards political opponents and other world leaders who did not share his ideals. Duterte soon earned a "Dirty Harry" reputation, after making sexist remarks, such as bragging about raping women and attacking women's genitals. Most notably, he called for the genitals of protesters to be mutilated.[1]
Duterte's campaign also gave rise to an online army, which aimed to spread fake and misleading news,[2] discredit his rivals and critics, including most of mainstream news media.[3] At the 2016 elections, Duterte became the oldest person to assume the Philippine presidency; the record was previously held by Sergio Osmeña at the age of 65.
After assuming office, Duterte's vocal critics–the majority of whom are either women, activists or religious leaders–became target of harassment and fake news online, removal from office, or imprisonment, such in the case of Rappler's Maria Ressa, Vice President Leni Robredo, Senator Leila de Lima, Senator Risa Hontiveros, then-chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, ABS-CBN, Jejomar Contawe, and Bishop Pablo Virgilio David.[4]
Duterte was also noted for frequently praising dictators Adolf Hitler and Ferdinand Marcos, culminating in the controversial burial of Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes' Cemetery) reserved for soldiers, patriots and national heroes and declaring a non-working holiday in Ilocos Norte on September 11.
Drug war in the Philippines
According to the Philippine National Police, the death toll of Duterte's drug war surpassed 7,000 by January 2017, after which the police stopped publishing data. Multiple media sources have cited that the casualties included convicted drug pushers, suspects and underage children. The first official casualty of Duterte's drug war was found three hours after his inauguration, several blocks away from the Malacañang Palace. During the first months of Duterte's reign,
The police consistently claimed those who were killed either resisted arrest or endangered the police with guns, even though several surveillance footages and circumstantial witnesses have tried to disprove this narrative.[5] Following criticism from United Nations human rights experts that extrajudicial killings had increased since his election, Duterte threatened to withdraw the Philippines from the UN and form a new organization with China and African nations. He has declared his intention to pursue an "independent foreign policy", and sought to distance the Philippines from the United States and European nations and pursue closer ties with China and Russia.
Martial Law in Mindanao
The Maute group, an ISIS-inspired terrorist group, had reportedly been able to establish a stronghold in Lanao del Sur since early 2016. The group had been blamed for the 2016 Davao City bombing and two attacks in Butig, Lanao del Sur, a town located south of Marawi, in 2016. Before the Duterte administration, the Philippine government had downplayed the threat of ISIS in the Philippines. Even after the February 2016 Butig clash with the Maute group, then-President Benigno Aquino III discounted the possibility of the Islamic State's presence in the country. He said that those behind the attack were just mercenaries wanting to be recognized by the Middle East-based terror group.
In November 2016, President Duterte confirmed the Maute group's affiliation with the Islamic State. Amidst fierce fighting in Butig on November 30, 2016, Duterte, in a command briefing in Lanao del Sur, warned the Maute group: "Ayaw ko makipag-away sa inyo. Ayaw ko makipag-patayan, (I do not want to fight with you. I don't want us killing each other) but please, do not force my hand. I cannot be forever traveling here every month para lang makipag-usap (just to talk), at pagtalikod ko patayan na naman (and when I turn around, there's killing again). I do not want to mention anything, but please do not force my hand into it." On December 2, 2016, as the military regained control of Butig, the retreating Maute fighters reportedly left a note threatening to behead Duterte.
On May 23, 2017, clashes between Philippine government security forces and militants affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), including the Maute and Abu Sayyaf Salafi jihadist groups erupted in the city of Marawi.
On the same day, Duterte signed Proclamation No. 216 declaring a 60-day martial law in Mindanao following clashes between the AFP and the Maute group in Marawi, Lanao del Sur. He said that the implementation is similar to Proclamation No. 1081 and expressed the possibility of extending the scope of the martial law nationwide if deemed necessary.
Sometime in December 2019, Duterte banned entry of two USA senators, meaning he and the government with help of his supporters, would implement brutal visa restrictions to all foreigners to enter PH and to ban all Filipinos from entering all another countries without government, state and military approval lest they be branded as defectors like it happened to North Korea and to make Philippines a self-reliant country too, not just sovereign.
Trivia
- According to Mister C F's idea that Rodrigo Duterte is a close friend to China Counterpart Xi Jinping.
References
- ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/13/philippines-rodrigo-duterte-orders-soldiers-to-shoot-female-rebels-in-the-vagina
- ↑ https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/964969/rappler-links-duterte-2016-campaign-to-certain-fake-news
- ↑ https://www.rappler.com/nation/176615-duterte-online-defenders-trolls-hired-campaign
- ↑ https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/list-duterte-insults-second-year
- ↑ https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/21/18/palace-no-justice-for-slain-nanlaban-drug-suspects