Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte is once again under fire for his recent rape joke during his speech on Friday, May 26. Speaking before the soldiers fighting against the Maute group in the Southern part of the country, the 72-year-old leader made a remark about taking responsibility for whatever will happen during the 60-day #Martial Law in Mindanao, which he declared on Monday after a terrorist group invaded Marawi City.
'I will go to jail for you'
Duterte, who is known for his controversial statements, drew flak when he promised to take responsibility if his soldiers ever committed rape.
The leader even said he would "go to jail" for them and will "admit" the offense on their behalf. The Philippine president even went as far as to utter some explicit words while speaking in front of hundreds of soldiers.
This is not the first time Duterte has caught the attention of the international press for his crass remarks. During his campaign last year, the then-candidate joked about the rape case of an Australian missionary. In his words, the leader cursed at the perpetrators for raping the victim. But, to everyone's surprise, Duterte added that it should have been him, the mayor, who scored first.
As expected, several women's groups and religious organizations condemned the Philippine president for his remarks, which they said were inappropriate and unbecoming.
'Duterte is a murderous thug'
Hillary Clinton's daughter, Chelsea, took to her Twitter to express her disgust of Duterte's recent remarks about rape. The former correspondent strongly said his statement was "not funny ever," calling the Philippine president a "murderous thug with no regard for human rights."
In one of her replies to her followers, the only daughter of Bill and Hillary Clinton underlined that rape is something no one should joke about.
Duterte's party, on the other hand, refused to comment on the recent issue in the wake of Martial Law in Mindanao.
War on drugs
Aside from his controversial remarks, Duterte is best known for his stern implementation of the war on drugs in the Philippines. Since he was seated as the president, the Philippine National Police (PNP) have already recorded 2,500 slain drug suspects, while 53,000 individuals have been arrested since Duterte assumed the presidency in June 2016. Still, it's clear that the international community at large is not a fan of either his words or his tactics.
