ISLAND GARDEN CITY OF SAMAL—“Who wants to kill the innocents? Definitely not me.”

This was what President Duterte stressed here on Friday in an apparent bid to parry allegations he ordered the killings even of innocent individuals under his drug campaign while he was still mayor of Davao City.

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Speaking at the turnover of the P500,000 drug rehabilitation facility in Sitio Maag in Barangay Peñaplata here—

which was funded by Chinese-Filipino businessmen—the President said his orders were clear from the start: “Go hunt pushers, ask them to stop and if they won’t, then arrest them. If they put up a fight, kill them.”

He said it was better that pushers were the ones killed than law enforcers.

He also took a swipe at human rights advocates by saying their hearts bleed for pushers.

“But me, I want to protect my community, the Filipino people. That’s my sworn duty,” Duterte said.

Because he was protecting the Filipino people against the drug menace, the President said drug pushers and their protectors could not expect him to have mercy on them.

“Don’t use human rights and due process, I am sworn to protect the Filipino people,” Duterte said.

He then went on to say that his blood boils when he thinks of overseas Filipino workers, who work hard so they could raise their children well.

He said that some OFW-mothers even had to endure being raped just to earn money for their families.

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“And the children only waste it on drugs,” he said.—ALLAN NAWAL

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