Amid “riot” in US: Duterte thankful for “law-abiding” Filipinos

June 5, 2020

President Rodrigo Duterte is thankful that Filipinos are "really law-abiding," otherwise, the government would find hard time enforcing the lockdown similar to what has been happening now in the United States.

In a televised message in Davao City aired on Friday morning, Duterte noted the racism in America.

"We don't have racist here like in America. There's a riot going on...there's a riot going on all over and it seems to me that (there) is no end in sight," he said.

Americans have been demonstrating on the streets since the death of African-American George Floyd on May 25 allegedly at the hands of a Minneapolis policeman.

A video, which circulated online, showed that a cop continued to kneel on Floyd's neck while pleading that he could not breathe. Floyd was arrested following a complaint against him for allegedly buying cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill.

"It's good that we're not like them and it's a timing that the Filipinos are really law-abiding. Imagine if this is America, how can you enforce the lockdown and the quarantine?" he said.

Quarantine measures, including holding of huge mass gatherings, are being implemented in the Philippines to further prevent the spread of coronavirus disease. Celerina Monte/DMS