After rape-slay of Cebu girl, Duterte warns drug addicts of ‘most dangerous time’

ISABELA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday, March 13, renewed his tirade against the illegal drug trade after the brutal murder of a Grade 9 student in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.

In his speech during the campaign rally of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipinas-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) in Cauayan City, Isabela, Duterte denounced the murder of 16-year-old Cristine Silawan. 

Silawan, a student of Maribago High School, was found naked from the waist down, her face skinned to the bone, in a vacant lot in Barangay Bangkal on Monday, March 11.

Autopsy reports said the victim sustained 16 stab wounds and was raped. Investigators are looking into the alleged involvement of 3 drug addicts in the area.

“Kahapon may pinatay ang mga putang inang iyan, binalatan ang mukha,” Duterte said on Wednesday. (Yesterday, those sons of bitches killed someone and skinned her face.)

He again warned personalities linked to drugs that the last 3 years of his term will be the “most dangerous” time for them. 

“I have 3 years left, I would make it the most dangerous time of your life, as a drug pusher, drug lord,” Duterte said. 

Duterte also made reference to a priest in Negros Occidental who was recently charged for raping a 4-year-old girl.

The President called on the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to “dig into these.” The CHR, however, is not mandated to look into crimes committed by private citizens.

Duterte has been criticized before for his rape jokes. During the 2016 presidential campaign, he joked about the rape of a foreign missionary and said he should have been first.

He also said Davao City has plenty of rape cases because there are many beautiful women in the city.

Call for death penalty

Former Philippine National Police chief and PDP-Laban senatorial candidate Ronald dela Rosa also used the brutal murder of Silawan to justify the need for death penalty for drug lords.

Dela Rosa directly implicated drug addicts in the killing of Silawan.

“Sinaksak ‘yung bata, 13 times. At ang napakasama pa nito, ‘yung kaniyang mukha na napakaganda, akala mo birhen, tinuklap, tinanggal ‘yung mukha,” Dela Rosa said.

(They stabbed the girl, 13 times. And worse, her beautiful and virgin-like face was skinned to the bone.)

“Ito ba’y may kagagawan ng isang matinong kriminal, ordinaryong kriminal? Hindi. Hindi ito magagawa ng isang tao kung hindi siya involved sa ilegal na droga,” he added

(Is this the action of an ordinary criminal? No. This can never be done by a person who is not involved in illegal drugs.)

He said he will give priority to the revival of death penalty for drug lords should he win a Senate seat.

Dela Rosa, former police chief of President Rodrigo Duterte, was the architect of the police’s infamous Oplan Tokhang. – Rappler.com