Countries and citizens around the world are all navigating how to deal with the Coronavirus pandemic, and how to avoid spreading the virus. The President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, has ordered his military and police forces to shoot anyone who defies the lockdown rules.
“I will not hesitate. My orders are to the police and military, as well as village officials, if there is any trouble, or occasions where there’s violence and your lives are in danger, shoot them dead,” he said as he addressed his nation in a televised statement. “Do not intimidate the government. Do not challenge the government. You will lose.”
The Philippines only has a total of 2633 confirmed coronavirus cases, and 107 deaths, according to John Hopkins.
Their numbers are pretty low compared to other parts of the world, which may be why their president made such a bold statement.
He continued to address his country saying that “I will not hesitate my soldiers to shoot you.” Adding, “I will not hesitate to order the police to arrest and detain you. Now, if you are detained, I will leave it up to you to find food.”
Philippine National Police Chief, Archie Gamboa, along with other officials claim that their president was just being extra to get his point across.
“Probably the president just overemphasized on implementing the law in this time of crisis,” he said, adding that their authorities know that they are technically not being instructed to shoot their residents.
