“If she orders the closure, you close or else I’ll have you arrested”, the President said in a televised public address in Davao City.
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He said soldiers and police should immediately surrender to their superiors while the judges should report to the Supreme Court.
Rodrigo Duterte revoked the gun licenses of anyone on the list and advised them to turn themselves in by Monday for an investigation to clear their names. Policemen, you report to the police chief.
“I do not care”, he said. “[Philippine National Police] to hunt for you”.
They included eight judges, one of whom was reported to have been killed by a gunman in 2008, as well as five retired and current generals.
Hours later, two mayors – Mr Cipriano Violago of San Rafael, Bulacan, and Mr Martin de Guzman of Bauang, La Union – and a former mayor of Saguiaran, Lanao del Sur, Ms Rasmiya Macabago, turned themselves in to police, but denied any involvement in the drug trade.
As president, he has continued to focus on drugs, a prevalent problem in the Philippines. The remainder were mostly town mayors and police officers.
During the run-up to the election, he swore to kill 100,000 criminals and dump their bodies in Manila Bay. Most of those executed were suspected by authorities of being drug dealers.
“With many more lives at stake, it is of critical importance for the UNODC and INCB as global authorities on worldwide drug control to demand an end to the atrocities now taking place in the Philippines”, the letter says, referring to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the worldwide Narcotics Control Board.
But Duterte has scoffed at criticisms of his leadership.
Duterte said he was also offering soldiers and police his “official and personal guarantee” of immunity from prosecution for killings undertaken in the performance of their duties. “You can’t stop me and I’m not afraid even if you say that I can end up in jail”, he declared.
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As many as 770 to 800 have been killed in police operations against illegal drugs since Duterte was sworn in as president on June 30, including more than 200 killed by vigilante groups.
