RantCrush Top 5: December 29, 2016

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is known for his controversial comments. He has compared himself to Hitler, called Barack Obama a “son of a whore,” joked about a rape and murder case, and defended killing suspects in drug cases. On Tuesday, he told reporters that he had a message for corrupt officials. “I will pick you up in a helicopter to Manila, and I will throw you out on the way. I’ve done it before. Why would I not do it again?” he said.

“There was death penalty before but nothing happened. Return that to me and I would do it every day”-Rodrigo Duterte #TheFilipinoPunisher pic.twitter.com/HLafdBkjAi

— Matthew Heimbach (@MatthewHeimbach) December 19, 2016

Yesterday, Duterte rolled back that idea, saying it came from his creative imagination. But that doesn’t mean that he’s going to stop with the controversial statements anytime soon. He recently admitted to killing three people in 1988. He also said yesterday that the U.S. ambassadors are spies, in cahoots with the CIA, and sent out to destabilize his government. The UN’s human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein has called for an investigation, as Duterte “has openly admitted being a killer.”

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.