Duterte Tells Police to Shoot Troublemakers Amid Protests Over COVID-19 Measures

President Rodrigo Duterte made the controversial statement during a televised address. (Flickr)

Faced with frustrated protesters, President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines ordered police and military forces to “shoot [troublemakers] dead” during a televised address on April 1. This comes as the country is responding to the global COVID-19 outbreak, according to Amnesty International.

The term “troublemakers” seems to refer to leftist groups who are currently protesting unequal food distribution and a lack of government aid. However, Duterte’s words imply using force against anyone who disagrees with the government’s response to the crisis.

Duterte currently has emergency powers, and he has established a curfew as well as travel restrictions in an attempt to limit the spread of COVID-19.

BBC estimates that over 17,000 people have already been arrested for violating these new measures. Images of those who have violated the restrictions have been forced to stay in dog cages as well subjected to other inhumane punishments that have circulated on social media.

Since taking office in 2016, Duterte has attempted to purge the country of drugs by killing dealers and criminals. Human Rights Watch has attributed at least 2,555 killings to the Philippines National Police.

Furthermore, Human Rights Watch research has shown that police routinely plant evidence to justify their murders.

Many commentators have stressed that this is extremely troubling, especially in the current climate, in which the declaration of a state of emergency has ensured that Duterte has more power than ever.

In his televised address, Duterte threatened those who might inconvenience the police and military, saying, “Instead of causing trouble, I’ll send you to the grave.”

His words have sparked outrage from human rights groups. Speaking in response to Duterte’s statement, Amnesty Philippine Section Director Butch Olano said, “Deadly, unchecked force should never be used in an emergency such as the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Duterte’s tactics to arrest offenders are problematic for several reasons. First, they suggest that he will not tolerate any pushback or criticism of his administration.

On top of this, the outbreak-related implications of arresting so many people at one time are dire, as the International Health Committee of the Red Cross points out. The close physical contact that people experience while in detention could cause COVID-19 to spread at a much faster rate.

By detaining thousands, Duterte might exacerbate the public health crisis rather than alleviating it.

In the U.S, Japan, and other countries, people have criticized their respective governments for being too slow or timid in slowing the spread of the COVID-19, even with travel restrictions and curfews in the most at-risk regions, according to Reuters.

As countries around the world struggle to find the balance between over- and under-enforcement of anti-COVID-19 measures, Duterte’s clearly fall on the extreme end of the scale in terms of severity.