‘Bomb them all’: Rodrigo Duterte orders troops to blast militants and their kidnapped hostages
Philippine president also backtracked on earlier promise not to impose martial law, indicating he could do so if drug problem becomes ‘very virulent’
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he has ordered his troops to bomb extremists who flee with their captives in a bid to stop a wave of kidnappings at sea, calling the loss of civilian lives in such an attack “collateral damage”.
Duterte has previously stated that he had told his Indonesian and Malaysian counterparts their forces can blast away as they pursue militants who abduct sailors in waters where the three countries converge and bring their kidnap victims to the southern Philippines. He said in a speech to members of a chamber of commerce in the southern city of Davao late on Saturday, that he had given the same orders to Filipino forces.
He said he instructed the navy and the coast guard that “if there are kidnappers and they’re trying to escape, bomb them all”.
You can’t gain mileage for your wrongdoing, I will really have you blasted
“They say ‘hostages’. Sorry, collateral damage,” he said in a speech to business people in Davao, his southern hometown.
He said such an approach would enable the government to get even with the ransom-seeking militants.
“You can’t gain mileage for your wrongdoing, I will really have you blasted,” he said.
His advice to potential victims? “So, really, don’t allow yourselves to be kidnapped.”