Philippines candidate Duterte condemned over rape comments

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36067011

What a plonker

Wow! I don't know much about the guy, but felt from merely looking at him that he isn't a good person.

My wife's own opinion of him is certainly low, and she complains that there seems to be a big following for him building up.

she says 'that's Philippines', meaning that lot of people just follow an opinion because it's a popular one without even looking at why.

She was having a rant about him in the car only this morning, as more and more people she knows are posting pro Duterte stuff on Facebook.

Her rants are very entertaining.

Pro DU30 is all over asawas fb. People want change and they believe that he's the guy that can make it happen. Misguided or not the people will soon have their say. I will witness my first Philippines elections when visiting.

Duterte Harry, make my day

That rape joke was done in poor taste but if I were to exercise my right to vote, he will have it. The clamor for change is at the top of my list. Sure he is very rough around the edges, to a fault. But amongst the candidates, he is the only one that has a proven track record of great leadership (read: not corrupt, improved Davao and made it as the safest city in the Philippines, etc.). He is a great leader. Definitely not an elitist. People begged for him to run for the highest seat in the government and I hope he wins. He is the only person who isn't afraid to challenge the status quo. The guy has balls the size of Davao, if not bigger. He has a soft spot for kids. My friends think he won't be a good statesman to represent our country especially in international forums. I'd say that's bullshit. He lacks tack sure, but he is definitely not stupid. I'd rather have a president who gives it to us straight than some git who would sugarcoat anything to make himself look good.

But that's just me. I am sure people will either agree or disagree with me and that's fine. It isn't a personal attack on anyone else's candidate. So peace out!

Btw, I didn't open the link but was wondering if they also included the entire story of what really came about during that time when Duterte offered his life in exchange for the release of the same Aussie lady. I bet they didn't.

Does he offer his life in exchange for the release of all rape victims or just the ones he'd like to have a go on?

Maharg how can you say hes not a good person ,,,he is Marks hero and can do no wrong

"
Human Rights Watch (HRW) Deputy Asia Director Phil Robertson said the comments "were a disgusting endorsement of sexual violence" for which Mr Duterte should be utterly condemned.

In 2015, HRW described Mr Duterte as the death squad mayor for his tactics in dealing with violent crime in Davao, with more than 1,000 people being killed."

I was just reading about the death squads. The more I read about this guy, the more I think of the word 'dictator'.

Murdering suspected criminals, eh? Let's hope nobody we know gets accused of a crime they didn't commit.

It just shows how desperate Duterte's opponents are that they have to drag-out an incident that happened 27 years ago; things were very different back then. What he said then, in that video, is not excusable in today's world but he wasn't speaking in today's world, he spoke at a time before any equality or human rights legislation was in force and political correctness became rife.

It's all very well for organisations such as Human Rights Watch to perpetuate allegations of Duterte's so-called death squads but strangely neither they nor any other of his accusers have produced one shred of evidence against him. Of the hundreds he is alleged to have sentenced to death, not one of his alleged victims has ever been identified by name or photograph and no family member, friend or acquaintance of any alleged victim has come forward, much less filed a case of unlawful killing. Strange that. It seems that all these allegations are viewed simply as chika-chika by the rather high percentage of the population that the opinion polls say will vote for him.

In exchange for a life of a baby who is almost dying coz the mom escaped and the baby's aunt - they were part of the 16 folks who were held captives. That was for the first one. He was just a newly elected mayor then. Truth be told, no one else has done the same thing or will ever do, at least not a politician. And I don't think your question is fair to be honest. He explained himself and again was misunderstood for what he said. He didn't mean he wanted to have a go at the Aussie lady, but someone else was there first to try and rescue the lady the second time they attempted the negotiation because he was given orders by then President Cory Aquino to not kill anyone. He still ended up doing so to free the remaining alive kidnapped victims.

He's admitted it.

http://news.abs-cbn.com/halalan2016...o-death-squad-says-hell-kill-100000-criminals

Old news I'm afraid, Graham, of a statement that has not been taken at all seriously by anyone in the Philippines; certainly nobody in authority has acted upon it.

• Why didn't the Police arrest and charge him once his so-called admission had been made?
• Why didn't the Ombudsman file cases against him?
• Why wasn't he disqualified from his presidential candidacy?
• And yet why are he and his running mate Cayetano ahead in the opinion polls?

Maybe the voters are tired of corruption, of politicians and public officials lining their own pockets and see Duterte as someone with a proven track-record in fighting crime who will put a stop to all that. Remember, no politician has been charged with any offences arising out of the Pork Barrel scandal even though several senators and congressmen are allegedly implicated even after almost six years.

Politics is a dirty game and all this mud-slinging originates from one or other of the camps of the two hopefuls who would have most to gain from a drop in Duterte's popularity: Roxas and Binay.

Duterte is a very clever operator who deliberately says things designed to shock his audience; those things may or may not have an element of truth.

You've rather answered your own question there.

You ask why nobody has acted on anything he's done, then you mention officials lining their own pockets.

There's a possible answer right there.

There's no point me getting into a deep discussion on Philippines politics as I'm far from an authority on it, all I know is that I see this guy and he seems dangerous to me.

Are you seriously suggesting that Duterte has paid bribes so that he won't be arrested, charged and prosecuted? He is one of very few politicians one could not level such an accusation at!

Dangerous?! To whom, exactly? If you're a corrupt official working (say) in the Bureau of Customs and you've been trousering cash from the duties and taxes you're collected, or, pocketed millions in Pork Barrel grants, or, if you've been selling contaminated rice, then you might have just cause to worry.

Had you spent some time living in Davao and spoke with Dabawenyos who lived in the city since the 1960s, you might have some understanding as to why he is held in such high regard.

I'd say that anyone who is prepared to condone mass executions is pretty much a danger to everyone in the country.

Never under estimate the ability of the Filipinos to shoot themselves in the foot.

We saw the Filipinos do the very same thing when after six years of reasonable competence and economic progress under FVRamos they elected, overwhelmingly, the drunken, womanising, corrupt, Estrada.

Here we go again; after six years of the best economic progress the nation has seen, and the lowest levels of corruption in quite a while, there is a call for "change" and a "strong man" and they will elect an elderly man whose dynasty controls a city through the use of murder squads.

Look on the bright side; the economy will collapse and the peso will disappear through the floor, which is good for most of us.

Oh, and on the original story...

http://themaharlikan.info/news/meet...-of-the-1989-davao-city-prison-hostage-drama/

On a point of information, according to the official statistics, as opposed to some flaky website, Davao is not the "safest city in the Philippines". It is the fifth most dangerous, in terms of violent crime.

He has now apologised:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36079488

but his comment is not going away:

http://themaharlikan.info/world/the...-first-is-now-on-britain-and-australian-news/

The safe city of Davao:

http://www.philstar.com/nation/2016...-shows-davao-had-most-number-murder-incidents

You could say the same thing about the majority of Mayors in most cities and towns throughout the Philippines. The town i live in has had the same family in power for 30 years. Obviously the townsfolk hold the family in high regard.