MANILA, Philippines - Telling the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to "shut up," Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said that someone should be willing to kill criminals and go to prison for rice smuggling to be stopped.
In an interview posted by the Davao City Information Office late Wednesday, Duterte dismissed the CHR's criticism that his pronouncements against criminals in his city are "unethical" and "unbecoming."
"Alam mo sa totoo lang, kung walang Pilipino na papatay para sa taong bayan, sa mga farmers, at takot mamatay, walang mangyayari sa bayan na ito ... We have to defend the Filipino farmer," Duterte said.
"Ano'ng unethical? Talagang gagawin ko! Can you point out to me [what] law [says] that I cannot threaten criminals? Shut up!" he said.
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The mayor then rephrased his earlier statement, where he threatened to kill smugglers.
"O sige, ibahin ko: Kayong mga smugglers, 'wag kayong mag-smuggle para hindi kayo mamatay. Is that acceptable to them?" Duterte said.
He also reacted to Palace officials who said that Davao City should not project to be above the law.
"That's not their problem, that's mine. If I take the law into my own hands, I'd kill somebody, I'm going to answer for that ... The problem is the Customs and the smuggled rice," Duterte explained.
The passionate official expressed frustration at a supposed Davao-based cartel of 26 cooperatives cornering supplies of rice from the National Food Authority.
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"No amount of government threats or prosecution ang makakapaghinto nitong smuggling. This has been going on and its controlled by a few men ... Walang nakakapag-hinto n'yan. And we are willing to go to prison for the Filipino farmer, actually. I'm old and it'll only be a few years (before) I leave," he said.
Repeating his earlier warnings to those behind large-scale smuggling activities, Duterte said he is open to be thrown to jail for the protection of farmers.
"Sinabi ko papatayin ko talaga kayo. Hindi ako nagbibiro. We [are] losing billions and billions of pesos and reducing the Filipino farmer to poverty," the mayor said.
A certain David Lim and a David Tan are said to be masterminding the illegal activities in Davao, but he believes the names are "fictitious" as of the moment.