Du30 ‘kill’ joke amuses rally crowd, riles critics
- There he goes again: For Duterte diehards, it was the usual joke — the ex-President saying 15 senators should be “killed” to make room for his Senate bets — but critics slammed it as “violent rhetoric” that constitutes a crime.
- “There’s the daughter who wants the President and the Speaker killed. There’s the father, who wants the senators dead. It’s like they want to hit bingo,” said Tingog Rep. Jude Acidre.
- But two supporters of Duterte and former movie actors Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada were not alarmed. “I’m not afraid because I have an amulet,” said Revilla.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte’s remark that 15 senators should be “killed” to make room in the Senate for his party’s candidates was seen as a joke and met with laughter and applause by his supporters but was scorned by critics for being distasteful.
Tingog Rep. Jude Acidre, the deputy majority leader of the House of Representatives, condemned the former president on Friday, saying that threats of violence—whether intended as a joke or not—have serious consequences and constitute a crime.
Acidre, who was one of the more than 200 House members who signed the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte, said the ex-president’s statement was proof that “they are really like father, like daughter.”
“There’s the daughter who wants the President and the Speaker killed. There’s the father, who wants the senators dead. It’s like they want to hit bingo,” he said.
Duterte was calling out the names of the nine senatorial candidates during a rambling speech at Thursday’s proclamation rally of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng bayan (PDP-Laban), which he chairs, when the tough-talking former president made the remark as he was introducing Sagip Rep. Rodante Marcoleta.
Duterte said that there were “too many” party candidates, which would mean an uphill climb for the aspirants.
‘Create vacancies’
“What should we do? Well, let’s kill the senators now to create vacancies,” he said, drawing laughter and cheers from supporters who packed the historic Club Filipino in San Juan City. Several voices from the audience could be heard chanting, “Kill! Kill!”
“If we could kill 15 senators, we can get them all in,” Duterte added, to more applause.
“But that would be a pity. Then again, they’re irritating, not all of them, though,” he said. “Talking of opportunities, maybe the only way to do this is to set off a bomb.”
It’s the typical crude, black humor he used to endear himself to his support base, broadly called DDS (Diehard Duterte Supporters).
Seated behind him and smiling while casually chewing gum was PDP-Laban president Sen. Robin Padilla.
Boosts case vs Sara
“We can’t just set that aside because it brings a real threat to security and the government is forced to spend money and mobilize police and military to respond to the threat even if they say it’s just a joke,” Acidre said.
Similar but more serious and angry statements by Duterte’s daughter prompted an investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation. The NBI earlier this week found her liable for grave threats and incitement to sedition and recommended charges against her.
Acidre said that the former president’s statements could further strengthen one of the articles of impeachment against the Vice President, which alleged that her remarks in a Nov. 23, 2024, livestreamed press conference undermined governmental stability and eroded public confidence in the executive.
‘True colors’ showing
“Their camp seems eager to dig their own grave. Her father’s remarks just add salt to the wounds,” Acidre said.
House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro also condemned Duterte’s comments as “dangerous and emblematic of the culture of violence that has plagued Philippine politics.”
“These are not jokes,” she said. “These statements from former President Duterte are dangerous and show the true nature of how they view political opposition—as targets for elimination.”
This “violent rhetoric” has no place in a democratic society, she added.
“It’s troubling how easy it is for the president to say such remarks. Killing someone is not a joke. Terrorism is not a joke. These kinds of remarks show only the true colors of the Duterte style of governance: to kill those who oppose them,” said Castro, who is a senatorial candidate of the Makabayan coalition.
Duterte’s statements normalizes political violence persecution, according to ACT Teachers party list first nominee and former lawmaker Antonio Tinio.
“When a former president casually talks about bombing and killing opposition figures, it sends a chilling message about how they truly regard democratic processes,” Tinio said.
‘Flowery words’
But two supporters of Duterte, Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada were not alarmed as the ex-president was just in character for making such a joke.
“I’m not afraid because I have an amulet,” said Revilla, who is eyeing a fourth nonconsecutive six-year term in the Senate under the administration’s Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas.
“I think it’s just part of former President Duterte’s flowery words. That’s just how he expresses himself,” he told the Inquirer.
Estrada said it was a “nonissue” for him.
“I think he just said it in jest. You know (the former president). He’s just playful,” Estrada said. “He is so entertaining to watch.”
Not to be ‘normalized’
But for former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, one of Duterte’s arch-critics, bomb threats “must be taken seriously.”
“At the very least, Senate President (Francis Escudero) should condemn it,” said Trillanes, who is running for mayor of Caloocan City.
“The Dutertes’ call to violence should not be normalized. There should be consequence each time for them to learn their lesson and so that others will not imitate them,” he told the Inquirer. —WITH REPORTS FROM DEMPSEY REYES AND MARLON RAMOS
