President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday said nothing would happen to the Philippines if he would not impose a dictatorial style in running the country.

This, he said after his critics slammed him for his dictatorial tendencies in his bid to revise the Constitution from a unitary type to a federal form of government.

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Duterte’s critics also slammed him for his declaration of martial law in Mindanao, among others.

“Sabi mo diktador, diktador talaga ako. Kapag hindi ako naging diktador, p*t*ng *na, wala magyayari sa bayan na ‘to. Totoo. Kung ‘di ako mag-diktador ngayong style ko na ‘to ngayon, walang mangyayari sa bayan natin,” he said in a speech before former rebels in Malacañang.

(You say dictator; well I’m really a dictator. If I don’t become a dictator [expletive], nothing will happen to this country. It’s true. If I don’t use my dictatorial style now, nothing will happen to our country.)

The President’s statement came days before the country is set to commemorate the 32nd Edsa People Power Revolution, which toppled the Marcos dictatorship.

Duterte, however, had previously said he does not have plans to become a dictator and even asked the public in a recent speech to shun dictatorship.

He had earlier ordered the military and the police to shoot him if he extends even just for a day beyond his term in 2022. /je

READ: If I exceed my term, shoot me, Duterte orders troops

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