President Rodrigo Duterte said Monday night that he has never killed anyone after claiming on several occasions that he had taken lives before.
Duterte made the statement after assuring DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III that he would “see to it that the rule of law against a person is followed,”
“I have yet to find ‘yung sabi nila na idedemanda si Duque dahil may kasalanan. I have read the filings, and for the life of me, I cannot really find a good reason to prosecute an innocent man,” Duterte said.
“Maraming sinasabi ‘Rule of law, hindi ka naman sumusunod. Marami kang pinapatay.’ Wala ho akong pinatay na tao. Never, never. Magtanong ka sa pulis dito sa Pilipinas,” he added.
Duterte also said that he has never ordered anybody to kill.
“I never do that. 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,” the President said.
In 2017, the President said that he had stabbed someone to death when he was only 16.
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Duterte: I never killed anyone
“Rambol dito, rambo—at the age of 16, may pinatay na ako. Tao talaga. Rambol. Saksak. Noong 16 years old iyon, nagkatinginan lang. Eh lalo na ako ngayong presidente na ako. You fuck with my countrymen, ‘di kita papalusutin. Bahala na kayong human rights,” he said.
In 2016, Duterte said he used to join police operations and killed criminals as Davao city mayor to “lead by example.”
“But in Davao I used to do it personally. Just to show to the guys that, if I can do it, why can’t you? And I go around in Davao with a motorcycle, with a big bike around and I would just patrol the streets and looking for trouble also. Talagang naghanap ako ng engkwentro para makapatay,” he said.
In as early as 2005, the US State Department has received reports of the Human Rights Commission‘s (HRC) investigation regarding the alleged connection of Duterte in the killings executed by the rumored Davao Death Squad.