President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday said it would be better for the Philippines to have “a dictator in the likes of Marcos” than to have a leader like Vice President Leni Robredo.

“If I stop now my crusade against drugs and if there no order in this place, Philippines and corruption will continue, we’re dead. I said you’re better off with a dictator in the likes of Marcos. That is what I suggested. You can have constitutional succession, it’s Robredo. But she cannot hack it,” he said in a speech during the 49th Mandaue City Charter Day in Cebu.

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Duterte had earlier said that he wanted the likes of former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., son of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos – whom he once called the “brightest” Philippine president, to be his successor.

READ: Duterte to step down if Bongbong Marcos, Chiz Escudero would replace him

READ: Duterte says Marcos was the brightest of them all

In November 2016, Duterte allowed the burial of former president Marcos at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani. This decision of Duterte sparked condemnation from human rights groups as well as the public.

The President has been a known friend of the Marcos family while he has excluded Robredo from attending his Cabinet meetings, which prompted the Vice President to resign as chair of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) in December 2016.

Robredo, whom Duterte earlier described as “incompetent,” is facing an electoral protest before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) after Marcos accused the Vice President of cheating him in the May 2016 elections, which also catapulted Duterte to the presidency.

Robredo has yet to issue a statement on the latest remarks of the President. /vvp /kga

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