John Oliver blasts Rodrigo Duterte on ‘Last Week Tonight’

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is currently in the global media spotlight as citizens prepare to elect a new president. Many reports from foreign media have also highlighted the controversial campaign of candidate Rodrigo Duterte, the survey front-runner in the presidential race. (READ: World media zero in on Philippine polls, liken Duterte to Trump)

Duterte has made headlines for various reasons – among them, his remarks about the rape of a murdered Australian missionary, his stance on killing criminals, and his alleged involvement in “death squads” or vigilantes who target known or suspected criminals. The most recent addition to the foreign media pieces on Duterte: a segment on English political commentator and comedian John Oliver’s popular show, the news satire program Last Week Tonight With John Oliver.

In his segment, Oliver talks about how another controversial presidential candidate, Donald Trump, is now the presumptive Republican party nominee. He presents what’s going on in the Philippines for “perspective.”

Oliver is a staunch Trump critic, using his sharp brand of comedy to critique Trump’s politics on his show, among many other topics covering everything from the monarchy to abortion laws. 

“Duterte routinely kisses his female supporters, once called the Pope a ‘son of a bitch,’ – all of which have earned him a reputation as the ‘Trump of the east,’ a title previously held by a burned wonton covered in scarecrow pubes,” he said, getting in another jab at Trump. 

“Duterte has also suggested, if elected, he would kill 5 criminals every week, which may not be an idle promise, since since he’s been mayor, extrajudicial death squads have reportedly killed over a thousand people and while he denies any involvement in that, he does admit he’s got blood on his hands,” continued Oliver, showing a clip of Maria Ressa’s Rappler interview with Duterte, where he was asked if he had qualms about killing killers. 

He said that at times, Duterte seemed he was “trying to test the limits of basic human decency,” airing a clip of Duterte’s rape remarks about the murdered Australian missionary and calling his speech “truly nauseating.”

Oliver pointed out Duterte’s wide lead in the polls. “…So he’s probably going to get elected president tomorrow, which isn’t just terrifying for the Philippines, because it means that in just a year’s time, we could be treated to this as an official state visit,” he said, showing a Photoshopped picture of Trump and Duterte. 

Watch the video above for more and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments below. – Rappler.com