‘My only sin is extrajudicial killings,’ says Philippines President

MANILA: Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is no stranger to controversies, and in a latest speech, he has apparently admitted his role in extrajudicial killings.

During a speech at the presidential palace, Duterte, said: “What are my sins? Did I steal money? Even just one peso? Did I prosecute somebody I sent to jail? My only sin is extrajudicial killings.”

Opposition Senator Rizza Hontiveros said Duterte’s “verbal admission will serve as solid evidence in the people’s quest for justice”.

“It will serve to contribute in moving forward national and international efforts to exact accountability from the president and his cohort,” said Hontiveros. Meanwhile, Duterte’s spokesperson Harry Roque attempted to backtrack from the comments.

Read: Philippines’ President Duterte under fire for second rape joke

“You know the president. He wasn’t serious,” Roque told local radio station DZRH on Friday. “That’s the president being himself, being playful, highlighting the point that he isn’t corrupt.”

In his Thursday speech, Duterte also said there was no evidence to implicate him in the killings. “Four thousand deaths. When? Where? How? What did I use? Nothing,” he said.

President Duterte is currently facing two charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

In August, activists and families of eight victims of the Philippines’ “war on drugs” called for the president’s indictment over thousands of extrajudicial killings during his crackdown on drugs.

In March 2017, Duterte came under fire for making a joke about rape, with Chelsea Clinton leading online outrage and a rights group branding his sense of humour “sickening”.

In a speech at a military camp aimed at lifting troops’ spirits after he imposed martial law across the southern Philippines, Duterte told them they were allowed to rape up to three women.

Clinton joined many people on social media on Saturday to criticise Duterte, who has also carried out a war on drugs that has left thousands of people dead and rights groups say may be a crime against humanity.