In an optimistic if ill-conceived effort to distance himself from his despotic ally Vladimir Putin, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte reassured his top advisers that even he had standards, stating “I kill criminals, I don’t kill children and the elderly.” The Filipino ruler made the startling brag in a televised cabinet meeting Tuesday, during which he also poured scorn on Putin’s description of his invasion of Ukraine as a “special military operation.” Duterte stopped short of personally criticizing the Russian president, who he has previously called an idol and a friend. “Many say that Putin and I are both killers,” Duterte said. “I’ve long told you Filipinos that I really kill. But I kill criminals, I don’t kill children and the elderly,” he added, before concluding: “We’re in two different worlds.” Duterte, who leaves office on June 30, has been criticized by human-rights groups for the extrajudicial killing of more than 6,000 people suspected of petty drug offenses.
