Rodrigo Duterte, the vice mayor of Davao City in the Philippines, put out a hit on an alleged car thief. In fact, he’s offering a reward for the man’s decapitated head. And he’ll pay for it with campaign funds. Man, politicians do not play around in the Philippines.
The man whose head Duterte is after is Ryan Yu, the alleged leader of a gang of car thieves whose compound for storing stolen cars was recently discovered. Yu had also made unfounded allegations of car smuggling against Duterte’s son last year.
When it comes to the bounty the vice mayor put out on Mr. Yu, this was is what he said: “Make your choice. Either you want to earn 2 million, or you want to earn 4 million, or if you want to be morbid about it — bring the head of Ryan Yu to me and I will add 1 million,” before adding that those interested should put the head on ice so it doesn’t smell bad. The 2 million is if Yu is arrested, the 4 million is if he is killed, and obviously the extra million is for decapitation. That’s one politician with nothing vague about his promises.
Duterte also mentioned the offer was open to everyone including Muslim and communist rebels, so at least he’s an equal opportunity employer.
Now, those values are actually a little high because they are in pesos. The 2 million is equal to $48,400, therefore the 4 million is equal to $96,800 and the extra 1 million is $24,200. All in all the decapitated head of Ryan Yu is worth $121,000.
The money will come from campaign contributions. Duterte is currently running virtually unopposed for mayor, a position he formally held as his own and is currently being occupied by his daughter who is not seeking re-election. His son is running to be his vice mayor. This seems like it should violate election law, but that really seems minor in comparison to his other alleged crimes.
Human rights commission chairman Loretta Rosales claimed, “What he says … is irresponsible coming from a person of authority,” Rosales said. “That is an extrajudicial killing. He is justifying extrajudicial killing.” She also noted that he is passing sentence on Yu without due process.
Oh, and one more thing, Duterte has been linked, albeit indirectly, to a “death squad” that killed over 200 suspected criminals including minors during Duterte’s first mayoral reign from 2004 to 2009. He has denied any involvement.
(h/t Daily News)