Duterte on slain journalists: They’re corrupt, so they got killed

We won’t be surprised if he says he was joking about this later on.

In a press conference in Davao City on Tue night, May 31, incoming President Rodrigo Duterte made yet another controversial statement — this time about the killing of journalists in the country.

“Duterte made the remark when asked about his administration’s policy on media killings,” noted GMA News Online.

For starters, Duterte alleged that many journalists who are killed are corrupt. “Karamihan ‘yan, alam mo ‘yan nabigyan na, especially if you want to take sides, nabayaran mo na tapos you play. ‘Yan ang karamihan ng namatay. Or tumatanggap na sa mga sugarol tapos bira pa rin (Many of the journalists who are killed already got paid and yet they keep making commentaries against certain people),” he said.

The report noted: “Duterte cited in particular the case of Davao-based radio broadcaster Jun Pala, a critic of Duterte who was murdered in 2003.” Duterte stated, “Ang example natin dito, kung taga-rito ka man, si Pala (Our example here in Davao City is Jun Pala). I don’t want to demean his memory but he was a rotten son of a bitch. He deserved it. Of course, I know who killed him. Kasi binastos niya ‘yung tao eh (It’s because he disrespected that person).”

Duterte pointed, “Kasi kung journalist ka na tama, wala namang gagalaw sa iyo, especially if it is true (If you’re a decent journalist, nobody can touch you especially if what you say is true). I mean, you cannot hide the truth, by the way.”

Duterte went on to say, “Just because you are a journalist, you are not exempted from assassination if you are a son of a bitch. Freedom of expression won’t save you. The Constitution cannot help you kapag binaboy mo ang isang tao (if you disrespect a person).”

He also added, “Kaya namamatay. Karamihan niyan nabayaran na. They take sides o sobrahan nila ang atake, getting personal. Hindi lahat ng tao. Kaming mga pulitiko, okay iyan. Praktisado kami. Pero may mga tao, you go private, tapos iyong anak, babuyin mo, papatayin ka talaga (That’s why they get killed. Many of them already got paid. They take sides or their attacks get personal. Not everyone can stand that. We politicians can take it, we’ve had pratice. But there are private individuals who will retaliate especially if you disrespect their kids, they’ll really kill you).”

That said, a 2016 report by the International Federation of Journalists revealed that the Philippines is the second-most dangerous country for journalists.