President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday addressed allegations that he was involved in summary executions while he was mayor of Davao City, saying political rivals used his tough stance on crime to try to discredit him.
"You must have heard, because it's a popular issue, at that time and until now, that killer daw ako. That I kill men, and they want me in prison," Duterte said during a visit to the Philippine National Police's Camp Vicente Alagar in Cagayan de Oro.
Edgar Matobato, a witness at the Senate inquiry into the drug-related killings said last week that Duterte, while mayor, formed the so-called Davao Death Squad vigilante group and ordered several killings of suspected criminals. Matobato said he carried out around 50 killings himself.
Duterte, speaking to police officers on Thursday, said that Davao City was in chaos during the transition between the administrations of Ferdinand Marcos and Corazon Aquino. Duterte was appointed officer-in-charge vice mayor after the 1986 People Power revolution and was elected mayor in 1988.
The president said that, at the time, the government gave guns to people who identified themselves as anti-communist.
"A lot of tao sa Davao halos may armas. And it became an anarchy for everybody," Duterte said.
He said that to maintain order in the city, he told criminals there to surrender peacefully and to not offer violent resistance or they would die.
"Sabi ko sa pulis, just do your work. Arrest them, overcome the resistance and if there is violence, kill them."
This, he said, was used against him by political rivals.
"Every time may mamatay, aking kasalanan," Duterte said.
In December 2015, Duterte said in an interview over DZMM that he had killed suspected criminals in the past, including three kidnappers who refused to surrender when he ordered them to put their hands up.
He also previously admitted links to the DDS, but reversed himself and said that this was not true.
"I always use the word. Walang DDS dyan. That is Davao Development System. That is my guiding principle," he said in May 2015. He also denied an earlier admission that he had people killed as mayor.
Duterte also said Thursday that the government will invite officials of the United Nations and European Union, which have been voicing concerns on a rise in drug-related deaths in the country since June, to look into the situation in the Philippines.
He said, however, that the representatives should be ready for a debate, saying the investigation would not be a "one-way street."
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