- Presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte asked the Australian government to “stay out” after it condemned the rape joke he made during a campaign rally
- The comment was made by Duterte after he was asked to react to a tweet by Australia’s ambassador in Manila saying rape and murder should never be joked about or trivialised
- The tough-talking Mayor said he was being castigated because of his “bad mouth” but could still provide “clean government”
MANILA, Philippines – Davao City Mayor and the recent frontrunner among the presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte asked the Australian government to “stay out” after it condemned the joke Duterte made about the rape of an Australian missionary in 1989.
“Stay out. Stay out Australian government. Stay out,” said Duterte as quoted by Marchel P. Espina in her article for Rappler published on April 19.
The Davao City mayor was asked to react to a tweet by Australia’s ambassador in Manila, Amanda Gorely saying that rape and murder should never be joked about or trivialized and that “violence against women and girls is unacceptable, anywhere, anytime”.
The uproar happened after he made a joke about 36-year-old Jacqueline Hamill, who was gang raped and killed by inmates during a jail siege in Davao City, during a campaign rally last week.
Duterte claimed he was so angry at the inmates who killed Hamill and other hostages, including a three-year-old boy, that he took his Uzi submachine gun and fired at them, emptying the magazine.
“I was the first to fire…that was recorded history,” he said then ordered security forces to storm the jail, killing 16 hostage-takers.
“I looked at her face – (expletive) – what a waste. What came to mind was, they raped her, they lined up,” Duterte said after seeing Hamill.
“I was angry because she was raped, that’s one thing … but she was so beautiful, the mayor should have been first. What a waste,” said by the presidential candidate.
His joke saying that the “mayor should have been first” triggered a lot of criticism and ire. However, despite the flak that he received especially in different social media and from his fellow presidential candidates, Duterte has refused to apologize for his remarks.
An article by Lindsay Murdoch for The Sydney Morning Herald published on April 19 said the joke about Hamill has triggered a widespread condemnation in the majority-Catholic nation of 100 million, including from the Philippine government, Duterte’s rival candidates and four Catholic bishops, who asked voters to judge if Duterte is fit for office.
The tough-talking Mayor said he was being castigated because of his “bad mouth” but could still provide “clean government.”
“I thought all the while I was doing my job for humanity,” he said.
“I do not want anybody controlling my mouth. I say what I say and I’ve said it and if it does not sit well with you that’s your problem,” he added.
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