Duterte says extrajudicial killings his “only sin”

September 28, 2018

In what could be a slip of the tongue, President Rodrigo Duterte admitted on Thursday that if he has any sin, it is the series of the extrajudicial killings in the country.

Duterte made the statement in front of the government career officers during a ceremony in Malacanang.

"I will talk (about) political exercise now. What are your sins? Me? I asked the military, what are my sins? Did I steal even a single peso? Did I prosecute somebody whom I sent to jail?," he said.

"Extrajudicial killings are my only sin," he said.

Duterte has been criticized locally and abroad for the alleged extrajudicial killings in the country due to his war on drugs.

Government data showed that over 4,000 people, who were allegedly involved in illegal drugs, have been killed since July 2016.

Duterte is facing a complaint before the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity due to his war on drugs.

Duterte, in the speech, again hit the ICC prosecutor conducting the preliminary examination on the complaint against him.

"You are actually exercising functions which you are not supposed to do. It belongs to government. At the very least, you are committing usurpation of authority," he said. Celerina Monte/DMS