Duterte raises reward for killing communist rebels to P 25,000

From the Manila Bulletin (Feb 15): Duterte raises reward for killing communist rebels to P 25,000

President Duterte has raised the reward for the killing of communist rebels in the country, saying he was ready to give P25,000 for every dead insurgent.

The President admitted that the bounty offer would be cheaper than waging a counter-insurgency campaign.



President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (SIMEON CELI JR./PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO)

“Gaya ng mga NPA. Sabi niya, ‘You kill one soldier a day.” Oh really? Ang sabi ko rin sa lahat, ‘You kill —‘ Tinataasan ko na ngayon. ‘You kill an NPA today and I’ll pay you 25,000 [The NPA said, ‘You kill one soldier a day.’ Oh really? I said, you kill. I am raising it. You kill an NPA today and I’ll pay P25,000],” Duterte said during his visit to Cebu last Tuesday.

Duterte, who has terminated the peace talks with the communist group for the deadly attacks on government troops, said the reward would even save the government billions from the war on rebels.

“Kwenta-kwenta ko kasi kung mag-abot itong four years. P***, mahal masyado. Gyera eh. Kung bayaran ko na lang ‘yung buhay na 25,000, makamura ako by about 47 percent [I’ve calculated it. If this will take four years, son of a b*tch, it’s too expensive. It’s war. If I pay P25,000 for every life, I’ll save money by about 47 percent],” he said.

“I translated into billions. You know, we’re maintaining a war. ‘Di sabi ko “Sige [So I said, go ahead],” he added.

The President recently offered to pay indigenous people P20,000 for each communist insurgent they kill. He said the government could train the lumads as Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit (CAFGU)) and pay them for their work.

Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chair Jose Maria Sison earlier said the rebels could kill one soldier a day to force the government to return to the negotiating table. Duterte then retaliated at Sison’s threat, saying he could order the military to kill five rebels for every soldier killed.

In his remarks last Tuesday, the President slammed the communist rebels for being arrogant. He also sneered at the rebels’ continued support for Sison.

“Anong makuha mo kay Sison? [What will you get from Sison] You’re treating him as a god. Parang mas sagrado pa [like more sacred even]. You leave your families, they grow up not knowing you,” he said.

“And you expect to take over this government? Kaloko. Loko-loko kayo [That’s foolishness. You’re fools],” he added.

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/02/15/duterte-raises-reward-for-killing-communist-rebels-to-p-25000/