Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has come up with an unconventional method to fight corruption in the country and incentivise officials to not accept bribes by calling on all citizens to slap, or even shoot, corrupt public servants on sight.
"If you pay taxes, fees, clearances or whatever and these fools ask for a bribe, slap them. If you have a gun, you can shoot them", he said.
The president gave an example of what he thought would be an ideal way to handle cases of bribery, with corrupt officials being summoned to his office along with the victims. Duterte said he would then order the latter to slap the "son of a b*tch" according to the amount of money he demanded as a bribe.
At the same time, Duterte warned would-be anti-bribe vigilantes against killing offenders, noting he wouldn’t be able to stand up for them and prevent them from being thrown into prison.
"Don’t kill them because you might end up getting embroiled with those given pardon after computation […] Just the foot. It will only be serious physical injuries. You’ll be placed on probation. You’ll just report to probation officer. At least you shot a foolish thief and I will defend you", the president added.
This is not the first time that the Philippine president has suggested resolving conflicts with the use of firearms instead of via standard legal procedures. Last year, he commented on a dispute between his son and one of the country's senators, suggesting that they "shoot each other".
Duterte has long been facing criticism over police forces in the country being quick to pull the trigger when it comes to fighting drug trafficking. Several human rights NGOs and opposition figures have accused them of extrajudicial killings of suspects in drug-related cases, calling on the president to stop the bloody hunt for drug lords.
