PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte told children on Monday he will kill to protect them from the drug menace.
In a Boy Scout uniform and speaking for the first time as the new Chief Scout of the Boys Scouts of the Philippines, Duterte told his audience—some of them as young as four years old—that he really killed people and would not hesitate to do so particularly if young people were at risk.
“You know, those who are sitting right there will be the President in the future. If you won’t be President, you’ll be adults here because you will protect the next generation of Filipinos.”
Duterte made his statement even as the National Bureau of Investigation on Monday filed charges against two men who were arrested over the weekend in a drug bust in Tondo, Manila, that led to the seizure of P120 million worth of illegal drugs and a cache of firearms.
The agency said follow-up operations were still being conducted to determine the identity of the mastermind.
Duterte said children must be protected from the scourge of illegal drugs and exploitation.
“From now on, I must guard you. I am really tightening the ranks. And as they say, I kill people. I really kill people if they touch our children.
“I want you to grow up as boy scouts… ROTC, so that you can train how to use a gun, so that you know how to fight.”
Duterte blamed the “libertarian attitude” for the lack of patriotism among the youth.
He again criticized Senator Francis Pangilinan who principally authored the lowering of the minimum age of criminal responsibility.
Duterte claimed that the minors who were able to get away from the law in turn “produced people who are of criminal minds.”
“And that is why it is hard to stop the drug problem now,” he said.