The Philippines' new president Duterte promised bloodshed — and hundreds are now dead
Rodrigo Duterte took office as president of the Philippines one month ago on Friday, promising death to drug dealers and a nationwide expansion of the brutal, death-squad approach to crime that made him famous as mayor of
"If I become president, there would be no such thing as bloodless cleansing," he promised during the campaign.
That promise wasn't campaign rhetoric. It turned out to be literal.
In the 30 days since he took office, 35 suspected criminals have been killed every day on average on the streets of Filipino cities, either by police or by self-appointed vigilantes. That's as many dead each day as in the entire first five months of the year.
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Drug dealers and users are surrendering to the police by the hundreds of thousands, hoping to avoid death at the hands of gun-toting vigilantes left to roam free by the cops.
After all, it's the president himself who gave people license to mete out justice on their own. "Please feel free to call us, the police, or do it yourself if you have the gun — you have my support," Duterte said on national TV last month.
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