“A leader must be a terror to the few who are evil in order to protect the lives and well-being of the many who are good” – Mayor Duterte
DAVAO CITY – Local Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has assailed the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) for wanting him investigated for alleged violations of human rights of criminals even as he maintained that his hard line policy against criminal elements has protected the lives of his constituents.
“Are you telling me that these criminals have human rights to kill and human rights to continue their criminal activities? What about the human rights of the innocent victims and their orphans?,” Duterte said as he called the HRW as a bunch of hypocrites.
Duterte said the US-based HRW has no right lecturing Filipinos on how we should conduct our own affairs when these hypocritical bleeding hearts cannot even protect the human rights of African-Americans and other minorities in their own country.
“(These US-based human rights groups) are inutile in dealing with genocide going on in Africa and other countries, yet their hearts bleed for criminals who rape and kill innocents in my country, and want me to respect the rights of those who destroy the future of my country’s youth by peddling illegal drugs?,” said Duterte, who has transformed Davao City from a chaotic place in the1980s to the 9th safest city in world.
Duterte said his experience as mayor of Davao City has convinced him that a leader cannot be soft on criminals. “A leader must be a terror to the few who are evil in order to protect the lives and well-being of the many who are good”.
“I offer no excuses. I will not apologize to anyone. I am willing to go to jail so that my people can live in peace and achieve progress. So be it,” said Duterte who is known for his “in your face” statements that sometimes offend those so-called bleeding hearts like the HRW and the Commission on Human Rights.
HRW had said the lack of comprehensive investigation has been alarming considering that the existence of the death squad was well-documented in its 2009 report and that even the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings urged the government to stop the use of death squads against criminality in Davao City.
HRW said that in 2012, the CHR issued a resolution after it found probable cause on the allegations and recommended for the Office of the Ombudsman to file murder charges against the mayor. But the Ombudsman limited its investigation to the police officers implicated in the killings–not Duterte himself–finding 21 of them guilty of ‘simple neglect of duty,’ and fining them the equivalent of a month’s salary.
The country’s Court of Appeals later overturned the verdict, saying the Ombudsman merely used statistics against the police officers. To date, not one person has been convicted for involvement in any of the killings, still according to HRW.
“If criminals in the book of these foreigners have their human rights, peace-loving citizens should also be entitled to some human wrongs to protect themselves,” said Duterte who is also known to for his sarcastic remarks and a joker in playing with words.
Reacting to the story on the HRW call for the government to investigate Duterte, netizens have taken up the cudgel for Duterte and urged human rights group to leave the mayor alone.
Inquirer reader Rommel Senga said: “The CHR should focus its energy and resources for the benefit of the taxpaying and peace loving citizens of this country. Criminal minds have long discarded the idea of respecting the law and that alone should be enough reason for the law to be tough on them. Give them due process but that should be just about it. Leave Duterte alone….The man is doing us a favor actually.”
“This world will never be safe as long as (these) human rights group is there to protect and side with criminals, murderers, rapists, drug pushers, smugglers, robbers, thieves. These criminals should not have human rights. What about the victims? The ordinary decent citizens, don’t they have human rights, too? Protection from destructive and evil people?” (Jerry Dureza)
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