The former president of the Philippines has admitted to having a “death squad” of gangsters while he was a city mayor.
Rodrigo Duterte, 79, was giving evidence to a senate inquiry into drug-related killings during his presidency from 2016 to 2022.
He denied authorising police to shoot thousands of suspects during a brutal crackdown on illegal drugs at that time – but commented on his time as mayor of the southern city of Davao instead.
He told the senate on Monday: “I can make the confession now if you want. I had a death squad of seven, but they were not policemen, they were also gangsters.
“I’ll ask a gangster to kill somebody. ‘If you will not kill (that person), I will kill you now.'”
The inquiry’s chairman, senator Aquilino Pimentel III pressed Mr Duterte for more details, but he refused.
However, he said he had never ordered the death squad to kill defenceless suspects.
It was the first time he had appeared in public since he left office in 2022.
Mr Duterte was Davao’s mayor between 2013 and 2016 – having served as vice mayor for the three years before that.
Filipino election rules prevent presidents from seeking a second term, with Bongbong Marcos replacing him as leader two years ago.
The former president is known for his lack of regard for human rights, attacks on the media, the Catholic church, and political opposition.
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The drugs crackdown, which resulted in an unprecedented number of killings, is currently the subject of an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation, which could see him convicted of crimes against humanity.
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When Duterte was president, two men – one a former policeman – had testified before the senate that they were part of an alleged hit squad in Davao and that they killed at Duterte’s behest.
One of Mr Duterte’s biggest critics senator Leila de Lima, who previously investigated drug killings in Davao, has said there is now sufficient evidence to prosecute him – but witnesses are too scared to testify.
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Ms de Lima was arrested early on in Mr Duterte’s presidency and was held for six years before her release in 2023.
She said following the televised inquiry hearing: “This man, the former mayor of Davao City and the former president of the Republic of the Philippines, for so long has evaded justice and accountability. We have not made him to account after all these years.”
Mr Duterte appeared defiant, however, claiming he would “wipe” all the drug dealers if he was allowed to return to power, claiming they have been allowed to act with impunity now he has left.
