“Kill them with a bullet!” Customary shock phrases, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte warned, Wednesday, April 1, violators of the containment measures put in place to fight against the coronavirus pandemic that they risked being killed.

In a televised address, the head of state, elected in 2016 after promising to end drug trafficking by "killing" suspected traffickers and drug addicts, said it was vital that everyone respected containment measures, when the authorities fear an overload of the fragile national health system.

"It is getting worse. So again, I'm telling you how serious the problem is and you need to listen," said Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday evening. "My orders to the police and the army (...): if there is unrest and there is a possibility that they will fight back, with a risk for your lives, kill them by bullet" , he added.

Hundreds of new cases every day

"Is this understood correctly? Dead. Instead of causing trouble, I will bury you," continued Rodrigo Duterte.

The country has recorded 96 deaths and 2,311 confirmed cases of infection, all in the past three weeks, and new cases of infection are now reported by the hundreds daily.

Activists have criticized the president for his rhetoric and accused him of inciting violence and forming self-defense groups, as they say in the President's war on drug trafficking. Thousands of people accused of taking or selling drugs have been killed by the police or gunmen.

With Reuters

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