Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte recently met a businessman and threatened him with death. The rough-talking president who has a zero-tolerance crime policy was meeting Peter Lim in Davao City. Lim has been accused of being one of the country’s top drug lords. He was probably forced to talk to Duterte directly as his family had been threatened in Cebu. “I will execute you…I will finish you off,” Duterte told the flustered businessman , who kept pleading his innocence.
The brazen and brash Duterte, elected on a promise of ending drug crime and fighting criminals, is living up to his reputation weeks after he took office. He has proved wrong critics who said his vows of vigilante justice are only for attracting votes.
Duterte, a former mayor of Davao City, has become a terror among mobsters and drug lords many of whom have been bumped off by security forces given a carte blanche after the new government came to power.
Yesterday, Duterte gave a piece of his mind to striking miners. Warning them to follow environmental norms, the Filipino leader said the country can survive without the mines. “I can forego the 40 billion pesos ($850m) I collect from you guys,” he said. “The Filipinos will survive without you.”
The maverick leader, who was once called Philippines’ Donald Trump, has been stripped off that label as the US Republican faces flak for his multiple gaffes. Philippines recently won a diplomatic victory on July 12 as a tribunal at The Hague ruled that China did not have historical rights to islands it claims in the South China Sea. The verdict gave a boost to Duterte who was busy fighting troubles at home.
His unconventional approach to fighting crime has received immense support from ordinary Filipinos who see him as a saviour in times of rising crime and drug abuse. Duterte’s policies are intended to fight the threat to law and order from ordinary criminals and cartels. However, the effects of his policies and actions have been criticised. It is believed they may prove counterproductive in the long run.
In a massive crackdown, the police has put scores of criminals behind bars, putting more pressure on an overburdened prison system. The Quezon City jail that has a capacity of 800, houses 3,800 inmates. The Philippine prison system is the third most crowded in the world.
Duterte’s anti-crime policies have jolted criminals and shaken the crime world. The government, however, needs to put in place an efficient criminal justice system and revamp jails to bring to fruition its intention of slashing the crime rate in the long run.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte recently met a businessman and threatened him with death. The rough-talking president who has a zero-tolerance crime policy was meeting Peter Lim in Davao City. Lim has been accused of being one of the country’s top drug lords. He was probably forced to talk to Duterte directly as his family had been threatened in Cebu. “I will execute you…I will finish you off,” Duterte told the flustered businessman , who kept pleading his innocence.
The brazen and brash Duterte, elected on a promise of ending drug crime and fighting criminals, is living up to his reputation weeks after he took office. He has proved wrong critics who said his vows of vigilante justice are only for attracting votes.
Duterte, a former mayor of Davao City, has become a terror among mobsters and drug lords many of whom have been bumped off by security forces given a carte blanche after the new government came to power.
Yesterday, Duterte gave a piece of his mind to striking miners. Warning them to follow environmental norms, the Filipino leader said the country can survive without the mines. “I can forego the 40 billion pesos ($850m) I collect from you guys,” he said. “The Filipinos will survive without you.”
The maverick leader, who was once called Philippines’ Donald Trump, has been stripped off that label as the US Republican faces flak for his multiple gaffes. Philippines recently won a diplomatic victory on July 12 as a tribunal at The Hague ruled that China did not have historical rights to islands it claims in the South China Sea. The verdict gave a boost to Duterte who was busy fighting troubles at home.
His unconventional approach to fighting crime has received immense support from ordinary Filipinos who see him as a saviour in times of rising crime and drug abuse. Duterte’s policies are intended to fight the threat to law and order from ordinary criminals and cartels. However, the effects of his policies and actions have been criticised. It is believed they may prove counterproductive in the long run.
In a massive crackdown, the police has put scores of criminals behind bars, putting more pressure on an overburdened prison system. The Quezon City jail that has a capacity of 800, houses 3,800 inmates. The Philippine prison system is the third most crowded in the world.
Duterte’s anti-crime policies have jolted criminals and shaken the crime world. The government, however, needs to put in place an efficient criminal justice system and revamp jails to bring to fruition its intention of slashing the crime rate in the long run.
