Philippine Senator calls Duterte 'serial killer'

A Philippine Senator on Tuesday called President Rodrigo Duterte a "serial killer" and urged the Cabinet to declare him incapable of running the country.

Leila de Lima's call comes after former police officer Arturo Lascanas accused Duterte of activating death squads and hiring contract killers to kill off detractors during his tenure as the Mayor of Davao, Efe news reported.

The Senator, among the staunchest critics of the Duterte-led government, called upon the Cabinet to save the country from a "criminal" President, who she claimed was incapable of running the country.

The Senator said that following Lascanas' confessions, there was no more doubt that Duterte is a "sociopath" and "serial killer", and urged the public to voice their outrage and hold him accountable.

She attacked Duterte over the large number of people killed by the Davao death squad, and the more than 7,000 extra-judicial executions that have taken place during the first seven months of the President's anti-drug war.

De Lima also criticised the anti-drug campaign for causing more deaths than during the 1972-81 period when dictator Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law.

She claimed that Duterte was the "biggest criminal" in the country, if not the entire world.

--IANS

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