“I’d be happy to slaughter them”: Philippine Holocaust?

President Duterte recently drew a parallel between himself and Adolf Hitler, stating that "Hitler massacred three million Jews. Now, there are three million drug addicts... I'd be happy to slaughter them". Perhaps like Trump in the US, Duterte is a pioneer in pushing the boundary on what is acceptable to say in public discourse. It would be interesting to break down this particular statement in the context of Duterte's foreign relations, domestic politics, and individual style.

Duterte makes reference to the European Holocaust, and makes his statement mostly in English. In addition, he references the hypocrisy of western powers' criticism of him, due to their alleged callousness toward middle eastern refugees. This statement is clearly intended for a global audience, and it echos Duterte's pivot away from the Philippines' previous close relationship with the United States and the West and towards China and Russia. Perhaps there is the implication that he cares not for hypocritical, fragile western sensibilities, and the severity of his statement and allusion serves to underscore this.

On a domestic level, Duterte campaigned on hyperbole, and candid, off-the-cuff remarks. The current statement is a continuation of this theme, and could represent a need to preserve popularity and political capital in order to further his policy goals. Aside from his war on drugs, Duterte campaigned on a promise to change the constitution, and install a Federalist form of government. Such a move would require massive popular support, and the cooperation of a large majority of congress. Hence extreme statements such as these could be a way to preserve popular support in order to enact this goal.

Perhaps something can be gleaned about the state of Philippine society and culture from the way such statements are received by the domestic audience. One interpretation is that Duterte's hyperbole gives voice to Filipinos' frustration that the traditional characters and institutions of government have not delivered. At the moment, Duterte enjoys broad-based public approval, with one poll placing his trust rating at 91%. Clearly this form of rhetoric has succeeded in galvanizing popular support.It will be interesting however to see whether this phenomenon will hold as the disruptive, non-traditional opposition figure that he used to be becomes the establishment responsible and empowered to deliver on its promises.

If I were to engage with this article personally, I would say that this is absolutely heartbreaking. The death count from extrajudicial killings in this war on drugs has reached 3,500 people. We are told by our parents, teachers and religious leaders what is right and what is wrong - that there is good and evil in the world and that we must always aspire to the former. Now we live in a topsy-turvy world where our leader extolls the virtue of Hitler-style "slaughter". This is our country and our reality.
It is becoming difficult to remain optimistic.