MANILA, Philippines—President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday evening said members of the urban-poor group Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay) have “no manners at all.”

Speaking during the awarding of housing units to former rebels in Tagum City, Davao del Norte, Duterte recounted how he allowed Kadamay members to occupy the vacant housing units in Bulacan that were intended for soldiers and policemen in 2017 to avoid any confrontation.

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“The Kadamay members have no manners at all. But even if they are rude, because they are Filipinos I refused to fight them. Because if I do, there will be a confrontation,” Duterte said.

The President also called the group members “crazy” and said they appeared to have not trimmed their nails for a long time.

“They might shoot at us. I’m not prepared for that. That is the spirit of the government. I will not fight with you. Tell the crazy people there, they have been stricken with dengue, their nails look like they haven’t seen a nail cutter for a long time,” he said.

Kadamay was behind the takeover of government housing projects in Pandi, Bulacan and Rodriguez, Rizal in 2017.

In June last year, some 500 members of the Montalban Homeless Association (MHA), a local chapter of Kadamay, stormed the La Solidaridad-Avilon Zoo housing project, in what housing officials said was an attempted takeover of vacant units at the site. However, local policemen were able to drive the militant group away.

Duterte had warned Kadamay to stop taking over housing projects for police and military personnel or else they would be forcibly taken out and might be killed if they violently resist. /jpv

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