CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines ― The leader of a Marawi-based group and human rights activists took turns in criticizing former president Rodrigo Duterte’s recent comment about making Gaza “the world’s largest cemetery,” denouncing it as insensitive and uninformed.

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Marawi City-based Moro Consensus Group (MCG) leader Drieza Lininding said Duterte lacked understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“Mag-aral po kayo (Please study),” Drieza advised the former president during a Facebook live stream on Wednesday, October 11.

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Earlier, Duterte said that if he were the prime minister of Israel, he would turn Gaza into “the world’s largest cemetery.”

“I will crush Hamas. I’ll tell them all to leave Gaza within 48 hours. If not, well, consider yourself warned. I will level it to the ground, leaving no more Gaza to fight for,” Duterte said in Filipino.

Drieza cited what he said was the striking resemblance between Duterte’s recent comments and what his administration did to Marawi City in 2017, asserting that the former president was quick to blame civilian residents for the actions of extremists who weren’t even residents of the predominantly Muslim city.

“His way of thinking has no place in a civilized world,” he said.

Drieza is among the leaders of hundreds of Maranaos who, on Tuesday, October 10, organized a march-rally around Marawi City, calling for a de-escalation of the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

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“A civilized response from both parties is to de-escalate and support a political solution to the conflict,” Drieza said.

Drieza and his group accused Israel of repeatedly violating international humanitarian law and protocols, and war crimes. 

In Cagayan de Oro, Union of People’s Lawyers in Mindanao (UPLM) Secretary-General Beverly Selim-Musni said Duterte should be reminded of Article II, Section 2 of the 1987 Constitution, which states that the Republic “renounces war as an instrument of national policy, adopts the generally accepted principles of international law, and adheres to the policy of peace, equality, justice, freedom, cooperation, and amity with all nations.”

“Considering that he faces charges of crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court for the thousands killed and executed under his regime’s brutal war on drugs, there are no higher expectations from Mr. Duterte,’ Musni told Rappler.

Karapatan Secretary-General Cristina Palabay told Rappler that Duterte’s recent pronouncements on Gaza showed his “thirst for killings and genocide.”

“The ‘peace of the graveyard’ is a mantra of tyrants like Duterte,” Palabay said. – Rappler.com