The Philippines' president is asking civilians to murder drug addicts in the island nation -- adding to a growing list of outrageous actions from the newly elected official.
President Rodrigo Duterte was sworn into office on Thursday after running a campaign that focused on violently cracking down on crime.
He's pledged to bring back the death penalty and kill 100,000 criminals. Now, he's asking his fellow Filipinos to kill alleged criminals themselves.
"These sons of whores are destroying our children," Duterte said Thursday night to a crowd of 500 in a Manila slum. "I warn you, don't go into [drug trafficking], even if you're a policeman, because I will really kill you," he said.
Duterte said funeral parlors would become increasingly profitable under his rule.
"If you know of any addicts, go ahead and kill them yourself as getting their parents to do it would be too painful," he told the crowd.
Duterte worked with the Davao Death Squad during his 22-year run as mayor. The group killed more than 1,000 people during his tenure, according to Human Rights Watch.
Drug lords across the country have promised $1 million to anyone who assassinates the president.
Duterte had already made a series of offensive remarks in the lead-up to his election as president. In April, he told a crowd of supporters that he should have had a turn in the gang rape of an Australian missionary killed during a 1989 prison riot in the country.
"I was mad she was raped but she was so beautiful," he said. "I thought, the mayor should have been first."
Duterte was embroiled in further controversy earlier this month, when he cat-called a female journalist when she asked him a serious question at a news conference. He had earlier called Pope Francis a "son of a whore."
