Duterte: US human rights group are ‘hypocrites’

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte (PNA photo)

MANILA — Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte called a US-based human rights group ‘hypocitres’ following recent statement of the group calling for a full investigation on his alleged role in the Davao Death Squad.

“What?!!!??!! US- based human rights wants me investigated?! Bullshit!! You are all hypocrites!” Duterte said in a statement sent to members of the media.

Duterte, who is still in Hongkong, was criticizing a New York-based Human Rights Watch adding that the group should rather focus on racist attacks on African-Americans.

“You cannot even protect the human rights in your own country the American-Africans and other minorities, not to mention your inutility in dealing with the genocide going on in Africa and other countries,” he said.

The human rights group earlier said that Duterte should be investigated for his “possible role” in so-called Davao Death Squad since the 1990s.

Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director of the Human Rights Watch said that the government should not tolerate public officials who use extrajudicial killings to control crimes.

“The Philippine government should take a zero-tolerance approach to any public official who publicly endorses extrajudicial killings as an acceptable means of crime control,” Kine said, as quoted in a Philippine Daily Inquirer report.

“Duterte’s public support for the extrajudicial killings of suspected criminals should prompt a long overdue investigation into Duterte’s possible role in those deaths,” Kine added.

The Human Rights Group also expressed dismay in the government’s failure to investigate Duterte’s alleged role in the death squads.

“Duterte has a long history of inflammatory public statements that would seem to encourage the extrajudicial killing of suspected criminals. He has commanded his police officers to ‘shoot to kill’ people ranging from suspected criminals to rice smugglers. That rhetoric has fueled protests from human rights groups and the Commission on Human Rights, which denounced the mayor for his statement and urged him to ‘operate within the rule of law,’” HRW said.

“The long official tolerance of Duterte’s advocacy of summary killings as effective crime-fighting strategy needs to stop. The government should send an unambiguous message to Duterte and other officials that support for extrajudicial killings results in an investigation–not in speaking tours,” Kine added.