President Trump’s friend and Philippine counterpart, President Rodrigo Duterte, has become an occasional staple of the news cycle ever since John Oliver dubbed him the “Trump of the East” on Last Week Tonight. Every once in a while, the controversial politician does or says something new to reignite the international news cycle, like he did last week when he told a group of former communist rebels and his soldiers what to do while encountering female rebels in battle.
According to the Washington Post, Duterte “appeared to encourage Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to target women in conflict”:
“Tell the soldiers. ‘There’s a new order coming from the mayor. We won’t kill you. We will just shoot your vagina,'” he said.
“If there is no vagina, it would be useless,” he continued, appearing to imply that women are useless without their genitals, according to local media reports.
The Post notes that the official transcript of Duterte’s speech, provided by the country’s Presidential Communications Office, included these specific remarks. However, instead of the word “vagina,” the transcripts simply included a “dash.” Considering everything Duterte has said before — from his recent threats to bomb tribal schools accused of stirring upheaval in the country, to his admitting to “personally” killing drug suspects during his time as mayor — the word’s omission from the transcript actually comes as a bit of a surprise.
(Via Washington Post)