Philippines' Duterte denounced for defending killing of some journalists

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

World | Wed Jun 1, 2016 10:27pm EDT

Philippines' Duterte denounced for defending killing of some journalists

Philippine media groups denounced President-elect Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday for saying journalists were being killed because they were corrupt and "you are not exempted from assassination if you are a son of a bitch".

Duterte's comments about extrajudicial killings, calling bishops "sons of whores" and a joke about a murdered rape victim do not appear to have dented his popularity in the largely Roman Catholic country.

But his comments about killing journalists have struck a nerve. About 175 journalists have been killed in the Philippines since 1986, ranking it among the most dangerous places to work in the news business.

Duterte addressed reporters on Tuesday in the southern city of Davao, where his loud approval of hundreds of execution-style killings of drug users and criminals over nearly two decades helped propel him to the highest office.

"Most of you are clean, but do not ever say all journalists are clean," he said. "Just because you are a journalist, you are not exempted from assassination if you are a son of a bitch."

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-philippines-politics-journalists-idUSKCN0YN3TK

[bemildred]

1. He seems to be admitting to the status quo, with 175 dead in 30 years, that is the way it is.

About one every two months. So his warnng is probably of more use to aspiring young journos there then the dissembling of the "media groups".