In Davao, Sara Duterte, city mayor and daughter of the president, has raised a reward offered for those behind the attack from $20,000 to $30,000, a hefty amount in the Philippines.
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“The Special Forces, they have to go”. More than 2,800 suspected drug dealers and users have been killed since Duterte took office.
In a state of lawlessness, “I feel that I have to to do some extra mile of putting things in order”, the President said.
“Look at the bodies there …”
The U.S. hadn’t apologized for alleged atrocities committed by Americans on Filipinos in the 1900s, Duterte said, also criticizing the U.S. over its role in conflicts in Iraq, Syria and Vietnam. “If they (Americans) are seen there, they will be killed”, Duterte said. “But they have to go”, he stressed. “There are many whites there”, Duterte said before speaking on the treat of Abu Sayyaf, which he recently vowed to “erase” and “devour”.
“The situation there (in Mindanao) will worsen. But they have to go”, Duterte said. They would demand ransom then kill him.
Earlier, the president has said the Philippines under his administration would pursue an independent foreign policy “without any interference” from any country.
“The reason is not I am anti-West”.
“I would have to listen to the military and the police for an accurate assessment”, he said.
“Japan is one of our strongest traditional partners in the area and we are very very happy”, the Foreign Affairs secretary said.
“We have reservations on the pronouncement of the president as we all know the assistance provided by the USA troops in ensuring the security and peace and order in the city”, said Acting Mayor of Zamboanga Cesar Ituralde, according to the Philippine Star. The task force was based in Camp Navarro in Zamboanga City, where the Armed Forces’ Western Mindanao Command is based.
In the end, the much-awaited dinner – which drew interest considering Duterte’s earlier tirades against Obama and Ban – turned out to have a different seating scheme.
Despite the termination of the USA mission, some United States troops stayed in the country to assist in the counter-terrorism programs in the South. In Mindanao, there are many white [Americans] there. “It is interesting that he hasn’t mentioned the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement”.
The Philippines was a colony of the United States from 1898 to 1946, except for a period of Japanese occupation in World War II.
The President added that if the Americans won’t leave, abductions by the Abu Sayyaf would “heat up again”.
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In another speech late Monday, Duterte said for the first time that he deliberately skipped a meeting between Southeast Asian leaders and Obama at the summit in Laos out of principle. The two briefly met during the summit and Duterte later clarified that he did not curse the U.S. president.
