The former president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, has admitted to keeping a “death squad” in his effort to suppress crime during his time as mayor of one of the country’s most populous cities.
In his maiden appearance before an official inquiry into his so-called war on drugs, the 79-year-old claimed that the group involved gangsters, adding that he would tell them, “Kill this person because if you do not, I will kill you now.”.
Duterte was elected president in a landslide in 2016 on the promise of creating his anti-crime campaign, which he had promoted in Davao City nationwide.
The nationwide drug war saw thousands of suspects killed in controversial police operations and is now being investigated by the International Criminal Court.
In Monday’s senate hearing, Duterte also said that he told the police officers to “encourage” suspects to fight back so officers could justify the killings.
“Do not question my policies because I offer no apologies, no excuses. I did what I had to do, and whether or not you believe it. I did it for my country,” said Duterte in his opening statement.
“I hate drugs, make no mistake about it.”
However, he denied permitting his police chiefs to kill the suspects, adding that his “death squad” was made of “gangsters. not policemen”.
“I can confess now if you want. I had a death squad of seven, but they were not police; they were gangsters.”
Still defiant-sounding, Duterte claimed many of the criminals he called out had resumed their illegal activities after he stepped down as president. If given another chance, I’ll wipe all of you,” he said.
Monday’s appearance was the first time he has shown up at an inquiry into his anti-drug campaign since his term expired in 2022.
It was the first time he came face to face with some of his accusers, including families of victims of the drug war and former senator Leila de Lima, a Duterte critic who was jailed for seven years on a drug-dealing charge which was eventually dropped.
According to the Philippine government, police and “unknown assailants” have gunned down over 6,252 people in Duterte’s “war on drugs.” Rights groups say the numbers could reach into the tens of thousands.
