Video from a bystander at a protest criticizing American influence in the Philippines appears to show a police van plowing into a group of protesters in a deliberate and targeted attack.
- Brutal violence used on Anti-US protesters outside Manila Embassy.
- Terrifying moments reveal brutality of new President Duterte’s regime.
- Controversial strongman Duterte has pledged to kill tens of thousands of ‘criminals’ and has seen a bloody start to his term.
The horrifying moments where a police vehicle speeds at protesters, running over many, has caused outrage. The bystanders footage is just the latest abuse of human rights and highlight the brutal regime put in place by controversial President Rodrigo Duterte.
The graphic footage has provoked widespread condemnation of the police in a country where abuse and terror is the new normal.
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President Duterte in Qoutes:
- “Hitler massacred three million Jews. Now, there is three million drug addicts. I’d be happy to slaughter them,” he said.
“At least Germany had Hitler. The Philippines wouldn’t.” - “Do the lives of 10 of these criminals really matter? If I am the one facing all this grief, would 100 lives of these idiots mean anything to me?” he said.
- Duterte has previously described Barack Obama as a “son of a whore” over suggestions the US president might challenge him on human rights.
- “Forget the laws on human rights. If I make it to the presidential palace, I will do just what I did as mayor. You drug pushers, hold-up men and do-nothings, you better go out. Because I’d kill you,” he stated during his campaign. “I’ll dump all of you into Manila Bay, and fatten all the fish there.”
Despite international reaction to Duterte’s outlandish comments and his harsh regime, the President remains popular withinthe Philippines and his strongman, authoritarian image saw him elected in a landslide in July after promising to kill tens of thousands of criminals.
In a country where electoral fraud and financial irregularity has blighted previous administrations, the Philippine president enjoys an image as spotless and incorruptible.
Alarmed human rights advocates have pointed to Duterte’s links to death squads and described the killings as “a profound setback for human rights” in the poverty stricken country.
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The fiery Philippine leader has also adopted a bullish stance on foreign diplomacy. He recently described the US as having “lost” and re-aligned the Philippines closely with China, outright rejecting criticisms from other foreign leaders and the United Nations.
The balance of power in Asia is changing and the rise of hardline police tactics and violence will worry the West as China looks to gain allies in the region. As for residents of the Philippines, the view is less clear. A clear majority voted for the authoritarian heavy-handedness president Duterte represents and we can expect similar shocking scenes in the future.