Manila - Philippines President Rodrigo
Duterte has sought to reassure soldiers who might be accused of
committing abuses under martial law and jokingly said that if
any of them were to rape three women, he would personally claim
responsibility for it.
Duterte is notorious for comments often deemed offensive and
made the remark as a joke, reiterating that only he would be
liable for any backlash over military rule on southern Mindanao
island. He has, however, said he would not tolerate abuses.
"If you go down, I go down. But for this martial law and the
consequences of martial law and the ramifications of martial
law, I and I alone would be responsible, just do your job I will
take care of the rest," Duterte said on Friday, according to a
president's office transcript.
"I'll imprison you myself," he said, referring to any
soldiers who commit violations, then he joked: "If you had raped
three, I will admit it, that's on me."
Duterte made the remark in a speech to soldiers on Mindanao
island, where he imposed martial law on Tuesday to try to crush
Islamic State-linked rebels, who have been battling the military
after laying siege to a southern city.
It was not the first time Duterte has made a joke about
rape. He caused outrage in the lead-up to his presidential
election win last year when he recalled a 1989 prison riot in
which an Australian missionary was killed, and inmates had lined
up to rape her.
In what was intended as a joke, Duterte said the victim was
"beautiful" and as mayor of Davao city where the riot took
place, he should have been first in line. He later apologised
and said he did not intend to disrespect women or rape victims.
Duterte is known for his informal, no-nonsense style and his
speeches are often loaded with profanity, threats and jokes
about taboo subjects, which offend some, but are taken lightly
by many Filipinos.
The president's spokesman did not immediately respond to a
request for comment on Duterte's latest remarks about rape.
Duterte's pledge of support for troops comes as human rights
groups and some lawmakers criticise his decision to declare
martial law as excessive, and say it could lead to abuses by
security forces.
He also joked that he would join soldiers in the fight
against extremists if he could, but he had arthritis.
He urged rebels to disarm and hold talks and said anyone not
authorised to carry guns would be killed.
"My order to the troops is all people who are not authorised
by government to carry arms and they resist, kill them, wipe
them out," he said.