MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte warned rogue cops on Thursday that he would hang them and make curtains out of their bodies as he apologized to South Korea for the killing of one its citizens.
In remarks delivered for the switch-on ceremony of a coal plant in Sarangani, the chief executive said he would see to it that those behind the abduction and death of South Korean businessman Jee Ick-Joo would get the harshest penalty and be “sentenced to the maximum.” Some South Korean dignitaries were in the audience when he delivered his off-the-cuff address.
“You give that power [death penalty] back to me again, I'll execute them, make them curtains. I'll hang them in one day, 20 of them, 20 a day,” Duterte said. He even offered to ship the bodies of the cops to South Korea “to fuel the[ir] burners.”
Duterte said that it would be better for these cops to escape from prison because he would send their heads to Seoul. The president's statements in the past, however, were described by his own spokespersons as hyperbole.
The president and his allies in Congress have indicated their desire to reinstate death penalty in the predominantly Christian Philippines. A death penalty bill was introduced to Congress on June 30 last year, the same day when the former mayor of Davao City assumed the presidency.
Death penalty in the Philippines was abolished during the time of former President Gloria Arroyo in 2006 largely because of pressures from Christian groups. This has resulted in the “emasculation” of the criminal justice system, according to the draft law.
The president also apologized to South Korea for the death of Jee after the country’s foreign ministry demanded that those behind the incident be swiftly brought to justice.
"I apologize for the death of your compatriot. We are very sorry that it had to happen,” Duterte said. “But I assure you that those responsibe are known to us already. And they will have to go to prison. And I will see to it that they are sentenced to the maximum.”
The kidnapping and killing of Jee have stirred concern among South Koreans living in the Philippines. These have cast further doubts on the credibility of the vaunted anti-drug campaign of the president.
The Senate launched an investigation into the incident and other cases of “tokhang-for-ransom” on Thursday. Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa expressed “shame” over the incident, the latest in a string of controversies hounding the flagship anti-drugs program of the government.
Local and international critics have slammed the government for allegedly creating a culture that breeds “extrajudicial” killings. Several policemen are also under investigation for the killing of Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. in his prison cell. The National Bureau of Investigation has concluded in its probe that what transpired was a "rubout" and not a "shootout" as the police claimed.