DAVAO CITY—President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday likened his war on drugs to Adolf Hitler’s efforts to exterminate Jews, as he declared he was “happy to slaughter” millions of drug addicts.
Duterte also railed against Western critics of his unprecedented law-and-order crackdown, which has left more than 3,000 people dead in three months and raised concerns about a breakdown in the rule of law in one of Asia’s most chaotic democracies.
“Hitler massacred 3 million Jews. Now there are 3 million drug addicts [in the Philippines]. I’d be happy to slaughter them,” Duterte told reporters in his home city of Davao shortly after returning from Vietnam.
“At least if Germany had Hitler, the Philippines would have,” he said, then paused. “But you know, my victims, I would like to be [sic] all criminals to finish the problem of my country and save the next generation from perdition.”
Duterte, 71, won elections in May in a landslide after a campaign dominated by his pledge to eradicate drugs in society by killing tens of thousands of people.
The lawyer and former city prosecutor promised immunity for security forces if they were charged with murder, and on his first day in office urged residents of a Manila slum to kill drug addicts within their own community.
His police chief also urged addicts to burn down the homes of drug traffickers and kill them.
Since Duterte came to power on June 30, police have killed more than 1,200 people and about 1,800 others have died in unexplained circumstances, according to official figures.
A piece of cardboard, with “drug peddler” or “drug addict” written on it, is frequently placed on corpses that are left on streets. This has led to the war on crime becoming known as “cardboard justice.”
Duterte has faced a barrage of criticism from Western governments and rights groups, but he has reacted defiantly and often with abusive language while insisting he is not doing anything illegal.
Duterte has branded US President Barack Obama a “son of a whore”, called UN chief Ban Ki-moon a “fool” and said “fuck you” to the European Union while raising his middle finger.
In his latest tirade on Friday, Duterte said he was under threat of being brought before an international court for genocide, but again insisted he was breaking no laws in the Philippines.
“You are portrayed or pictured to be some, a cousin of Hitler. And you do not even bother to find out, to investigate. Imagine that, I will be facing… even the international court for genocide. That’s foolish,” he said.
Adolf Hitler, leader of Nazi Germany, led a campaign to wipe out Jews in Europe which led to about 6 million deaths by the end of World War II.
Duterte on Friday also criticized the European Union and the United States for alleged inaction on the migrant crisis emanating from the Middle East.
“You US, EU. You can call me anything. But I was never into or I am never into hypocrisy like you,” he said.
“There are migrants escaping from the Middle East. You allow them to rot and then you’re worried about the deaths of about 1,000, 2,000, 3,000?”
Duterte has also signaled he intends to downgrade military ties with longtime ally the United States, while forging closer relations with China and Russia.
Duterte said this week he intended to end joint military exercises with the United States.
The nations conduct war games regularly in the Philippines and coastal waters, which previous governments have intended as a form of deterrence against China’s ambitions to control most of the South China Sea.
US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter responded to Duterte’s comments by insisting on Thursday America’s alliance with the Philippines remained “ironclad.”
But Duterte on Friday insisted the war games next week involving more than 1,000 troops would be the last of his six-year term, as he hit out again at the United States.
“Do not pretend to be the moral conscience of the world,” he said.
He said it was disrespectful for the US and the EU to portray him as “a cousin of Hitler” without investigating the real story behind the extrajudicial killings in the country.
The criticism, he said, shamed not only him but all Filipinos.
He said that he is used to be ridiculed as a politician, but he cannot take it if the entire Filipinos is being put to shame.