Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has vowed to personally tear apart and eat Abu Sayyaf Islamic militants, in a bloodthirsty vow of revenge for deadly attacks.

"They will pay. When the time comes, I will eat you in front of people," Duterte told an audience of Filipinos late on Monday night while in Laos for a regional summit.

"If you make me mad, in all honesty, I will eat you alive, raw."

Duterte often hurls abusive insults at critics and is waging a brutal war on crime in which nearly 3,000 people have been killed since he took office on June 30.

His aides often urge reporters against taking Duterte's comments literally, cautioning that the 71-year-old former lawyer speaks in a crude language of the people.

During the election campaign earlier this year Duterte attracted widespread criticism for saying he had wanted to rape a "beautiful" Australian missionary who had been sexually assaulted and murdered in a Philippine prison riot.

Duterte, 71, also claimed to keep two mistresses in cheap boarding houses who he took to short-stay hotels for sexual encounters.

Duterte on Monday offered a particularly vivid description of how he would like to eat Abu Sayyaf militants, who killed 15 soldiers last month and are accused of a bombing in his home city last week that claimed 14 lives.

"I will really carve your torso open. Give me vinegar and salt and I will eat you. I'm not kidding," Duterte said, according to an official video of his speech posted on Tuesday.

"These guys are beyond redemption."

The Abu Sayyaf are a small band of Islamic militants based on remote southern islands of the mainly Catholic Philippines and are listed by the United States as a terrorist organisation.

They are notorious for kidnapping foreigners to extract ransoms, and this year beheaded two Canadian hostages.

Duterte also on Monday caused a major diplomatic rift with the United States after branding President Barack Obama a "son of a whore" who would wallow like a pig.

Duterte made the remarks in response to comments by Obama's aides that the US president would raise concerns about the Philippine war on crime when the pair met in Laos.

Obama abruptly cancelled the meeting, which was scheduled for Tuesday, because of the tirade. </s> MANILA Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte cut short a visit to Russia and imposed martial law on the island of Mindanao on Tuesday after a fierce bout of fighting erupted during a raid by security forces at a hideout of Islamic State-linked militants.Two soldiers and a policeman were killed and 12 wounded amid chaos in Marawi, a predominantly Muslim city of about 200,000 people, where members of the Maute militant group took control of buildings and set fire to a school, a church and a detention facility.Duterte, a native of Mindanao, cancelled a meeting set for Wednesday with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. Tass news agency said President Vladimir Putin would see him before his departure Tuesday night, instead of on Thursday as planned. "The government is in full control of the situation and is fully aware that the Maute/ISIS and similar groups have the capability, though limited, to disturb the peace," presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella told a news conference in Moscow.The Maute and Abu Sayyaf militant groups have pledged allegiance to Islamic State, also known as ISIS, and have proved fierce opponents for the military as Duterte seeks to crush extremists and prevent radical Islamist ideology from spreading in the Philippines.Abella said the militants "have shown no hesitation in causing havoc, taking innocent lives and destroying property."Duterte has warned repeatedly that Mindanao, an impoverished, restive region the size of South Korea, was at risk of "contamination" by Islamic State fighters driven out of Iraq and Syria.

Brigadier General Rolando Bautista, commander of the Philippines' First Infantry Division, said security forces were trying to locate militants who had scattered everywhere and were blocking reinforcements from arriving."There are more or less 100, divided into groups of 10 in different locations," Bautista told news channel ANC."Since they are advocating ISIS ideology they have to show ISIS that they are a force to be reckoned with."

FIERCE FIGHTERS

 Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said and some 1,000 soldiers would be in Marawi by morning, but warned civilians to stay in their homes."There are Maute snipers all around, so the troops are still holding and elements have already joined," he said.The purpose of Tuesday's raid was to capture Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of the Abu Sayyaf group which is notorious for piracy and for kidnapping and beheading Westerners. The U.S. State Department has offered a bounty of up to $5 million for Hapilon's arrest.

The military has not explained how the raid on an apartment turned into urban warfare that was still raging 12 hours later.The incident highlights the challenges facing Duterte, who has pleaded with separatists and moderate Muslims in the predominantly Catholic nation to shun Abu Sayyaf and Maute. He has threatened several times to declare martial law in Mindanano, and deliver a "harsh" crackdown. Martial law will apply for 60 days.The government has blamed the Maute for a bombing in September 2016 at a street market in Duterte's hometown of Davao City, which killed 14 people and wounded dozens.Maute fighters took over a disused building in the region in November and endured five days of military air and ground assaults before fleeing, with 61 fighters killed. (Editing by Mark TrevelyanEditing by Mark Trevelyan)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. </s> MANILA, Philippines – Minority Senator Antonio Trillanes IV slammed President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of martial law in Mindanao, saying the Chief Executive is aiming to put the entire country under military rule.

Trillanes said declaring martial law in the entire Mindanao is “baseless” and “not warranted,” as the conflict is only confined to Marawi in Lanao del Sur.

He added that Duterte did not even give the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) enough time to assess and act on the matter.

Citing information he received, Trillanes said the AFP also did not request such declaration from the President to fight the Maute terrorist group.

“In short, hindi warranted na mag-declare ng martial law sa buong Mindanao. Kung sakali man hihingin ito ng Armed Forces, which hindi naman hinihingi, ay dapat doon lang sa area of conflict,” Trillanes told reporters on Wednesday, May 24.

For the senator, Duterte's fiercest critic, the President was clearly planning to do it all along.

“Napansin ko lang sa pag-declare niya ay parang naging trigger-happy na kating-kati mag-declare na di man lang binigyan ng kaunting panahon ang Armed Forces to give an assessment, control situation bago nagdeclare,” he said.

Senators went on a closed-door caucus on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the matter. (READ: Martial law 101)

Other senators welcomed Duterte's decision while some questioned why the whole Mindanao has to be placed under martial law.

Trillanes, for his part, said he would convince his colleagues to limit the President, as Duterte is clearly testing the waters for a nationwide military rule.

“Yes, kasi sabi ko rito, 'pag bibigyan mo ng palugit ito si Duterte, ang susunod nito buong Pilipinas na. Sinasanay niya, kinokondisyon niya isipan ng mamamayan na martial law ay okay lang. Di 'yan – extreme option yan. [Ang] requisites nga niyan ay invasion or rebellion eh,” Trillanes said.

"I believe tinutulak nya ang boundaries at pasensya ng mamamayan at ng iba't ibang institusyon at sector kung hanggang saan kaya 'yung pagtulak ng kapangyarihan niya. Kung pagbigyan natin ito ngayon, malamang aabusuhin nya ito at buong bansa ang madedeclare na martial law," he added.

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) issued the same warning, saying that if Duterte gets congressional support for his martial law declaration in Mindanao, he would be “emboldened” to take it nationwide.

"If Duterte succeeds in securing congressional support for martial law in Mindanao, he will surely be emboldened to impose martial law on the entire country. He can easily come up with more pretexts such as 'fighting criminality' and so on," the CPP said in a statement on Wednesday.

"The imposition of martial law in Mindanao is part actualization of Duterte's declared plans to establish himself as a strongman. His resort to such draconian measures, however, are evidence of the increasingly weak and fractious ruling state and the worsening crisis of the entire ruling system. It has a much wider target and purpose," it added.

The CPP said Duterte even declared that his brand of martial law would be same as that of Marcos, "foreboding the worst kinds of human rights violations and fascist attacks against the people."

"In doing so, Duterte has practically ordered the AFP soldiers to impose its rule and carry out more abuses with extreme impunity. The Filipino people will hold him directly responsible for all the abuses perpetrated by the military and police under his martial rule," it said.

Duterte has repeatedly threatened to declare martial law since he took office in June 30. He has also threatened to shut down Congress. (READ: Duterte says his martial law to be similar to Marcos time)

The 1987 Constitution says the imposition of martial law should not exceed 60 days, and that Congress has the power to either revoke or extend it.

Crafted after the EDSA People Power revolution that ousted the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos in 1986, the 1987 Constitution highlights the role of other branches of government in the martial law declaration. The provisions are meant precisely to prevent grave abuse and stop another Marcos from tinkering with civil rights.

Within 48 hours after its declaration, the President shall submit a report “in person or in writing” to Congress. The declaration can also be revoked by a vote by Congress. The Supreme Court may review the basis of its declaration.

Duterte is the 3rd Philippine president to declare martial law post-World War II, after Marcos and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who declared martial law in Maguindanao in 2009 after the Maguindanao massacre. – Rappler.com </s> President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday said “war” and “street fighting” have forced him to declare martial law in Mindanao.

“There is a war going on and street fighting in Marawi itself,” he said during his arrival speech at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

Duterte arrived in Manila after cutting short his official visit to Russia where he met President Vladimir Putin.

He said he does not know how many buildings were burned down and that there are reports that some people have already been decapitated.

“Government must put an end to this. I cannot gamble with ISIS because they are everywhere,” he said.

“By virtue of the powers vested in me and the constitution and the law, I had to declare martial law in the Mindanao group of island for a period of not more than 60 days, effective May 23, 2017,” Duterte said. “The privilege of the write of habeas corpus is also suspended.”

On Tuesday evening, the President announced that he has declared martial law in Mindanao. In the past, Duterte has said he was willing to declare martial law if it meant “preserving” the Republic of the Philippines.

Clashes between government security forces and the armed men, led by Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, started on Tuesday afternoon. There were also reports of explosions and fires. Some individuals have claimed that civilians were taken hostage although government officials have yet to confirm such reports.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the Maute group, which had pledged allegiance to the international terror group ISIS, has occupied several facilities in the city, including a hospital.

In his speech, Duterte confirmed that the Maute group has taken over a hospital and burned down government facilities.

He said the flying of the flag of the Islamic State and taking over of the other actions of the armed groups has “deprive(d)” the local chief executive of his powers to maintain public order and safety in Mindanao.

Duterte said what the Maute group did constituted the crime of rebellion.

The Maute group was previously tagged in the bombing of a Davao City night market in September last year that killed 15 people.

Section 18, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution states that, “In case of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it, he may, for a period not exceeding sixty days, suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or place the Philippines or any part thereof under martial law.”

On Wednesday morning, Marawi City Mayor Majul Gandamra said the tension has died down and that the city hall has been secured. </s> DAVAO, Philippines (Reuters) - Philippine police blamed Islamic State-linked rebels on Saturday for a bombing that killed 14 people in President Rodrigo Duterte’s hometown and dealt a blow to the firebrand leader’s bloody crackdown on narcotics and militancy.

Investigators said Abu Sayyaf, a southern Philippine group notorious for acts of piracy, kidnappings and beheadings, had claimed responsibility for Friday’s night bombing at a Davao street market, although police said they were still trying to authenticate the claim.

The attack rattled the normally peaceful home city of Duterte, who typically spends his weekends there, some 980 kilometers away from the capital Manila. He was in Davao at the time of the bombing but far from the site of the blast outside a hotel where he often holds meetings.

National police chief Ronald Dela Rosa said the bomb was home-made and fragments of mortar were found at the site, where two “persons of interest” had been caught on camera.

The bomb was likely to have been planted by Abu Sayyaf, he said, to divert the military’s attention from its operations to flush them out of their strongholds on the islands of Basilan and Jolo.

The military on Tuesday agreed to deploy a further 2,500 troops to carry out Duterte’s order to “destroy” Abu Sayyaf.

“From being offensive, they want us to be defensive,” Dela Rosa told a news conference late on Saturday.

Duterte canceled what would have been his first overseas visit on Saturday, to Brunei, and declared a nationwide “state of lawlessness” to deal with what he called an extraordinary security situation.

“I must declare a state of lawless violence in this country,” Duterte told reporters after visiting the blast site, where he assured the public that martial law had not been imposed.

Rallyists display placards condemning the bombing at a market in Davao city during a candlelight protest in front of the Catholic church in Quiapo city, metro Manila, Philippines September 3, 2016. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

“I have this duty to protect this country,” he said.

POWERFUL ENEMIES

Police and military promised to act in accordance with his “state of lawlessness”, although there was some confusion about what that actually entailed. Duterte’s office said it referred to a constitutional clause that states the president has full power over the armed forces.

The bombing came as the abrasive former prosecutor wages war on narcotics kingpins and street dealers, Islamist rebels and corrupt bureaucrats, scoring big points in opinion polls but at a risk of making powerful enemies.

Rumors have swirled of a plot to assassinate Duterte, 71, which he has shrugged off as part of his job. The talk has been fueled by his controversial crackdown on drugs that saw him elected by a huge margin, but condemned by human rights groups and the United Nations.

More than 2,000 alleged drug pushers and users have been killed since Duterte’s June 30 inauguration. Critics are alarmed at the sheer number whose deaths have been attributed to vigilantes, and the president and police chief’s apparent support for it.

Duterte’s tough stance on crime has ensured Davao has been spared the kind of violence that has dogged other parts of Mindanao, a large island province where several Islamist militant groups operate, including Abu Sayyaf.

Abu Sayyaf, which means “bearer of the sword”, has previously used an Islamic State flag in some of its propaganda videos and runs what is among Asia’s most lucrative kidnap rackets.

It has this year decapitated two Canadian hostages and held Norwegian, Indonesian, Malaysian and Japanese citizens.

Slideshow (16 Images)

The group has long been a thorn in the side for the military and has used its ransom earnings to entrench its network and invest in modern weapons, boats and radar technology.

The White House offered condolences and assistance to the Philippines, a key regional ally. Duterte is expected to meet U.S. President Barack Obama in Laos next week, when he attends a the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and East Asia Summits. </s> MOSCOW Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte late on Tuesday, TASS news agency cited the Kremlin as saying, instead of meeting on Thursday as originally planned.

Duterte on Tuesday declared martial law in southern Mindanao province after fighting raged in southern Marawi City between the army and militants linked to Islamic state.

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. </s> ILIGAN, Philippines (AP) — President Rodrigo Duterte made a joke about rape as he urged soldiers to use the powers of martial law to take control of a besieged city in the southern Philippines.

In the speech Friday, Duterte said he will pay the consequences if any soldiers are accused of abuses.

He said: “I will go to jail for you. If you happen to have raped three women, I will own up to it.”

On Tuesday, Duterte imposed 60 days of martial law in the southern Philippines as government forces battle militants in Marawi, a city of some 200,000 people.

Duterte is unapologetic about his manner of speech and liberally peppers casual statements with profanities. </s> MANILA Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday told U.S. President Barack Obama to "go to hell" and said the United States had refused to sell some weapons to his country but he did not care because Russia and China were willing suppliers. </s> President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, known for his off-color “sense of humor,” joked to soldiers after imposing martial law that they could rape three women and keep his support.

Duterte imposed martial law in his home region of Mindanao, a southern island home to 20 million people, to fight ISIS-affiliated militant groups who reportedly clashed with police.

“For this martial law and the consequences of martial law and the ramifications of martial law, I and I alone would be responsible. Just do your work. I will handle the rest,” he told soldiers on Friday.

“You can arrest any person, search any house.”

“I will go to jail for you. If you happen to have raped three women, I will own up to it.”

The details of the conflict in Mindanao are spotty. When he declared martial law on Tuesday, he cited the beheading of a police chief, a chief who was, in fact, not beheaded and is still alive.

He’s said since then that he is prepared to expand martial law across the country. “I will not allow the country to go to the dogs,” he said, according to the Washington Post.

His comments sparked condemnation from the Philippine Women’s Party, who issued a statement saying, “Rape is not a joke.”

Duterte styles himself as an everyman politician and is known for being crass. On the campaign trail, he “joked” that “the mayor should have been first” in the gang-rape and murder of an Australian missionary in 1989. He was, of course, referring to himself: he was the mayor. After the comment, his lead widened in the polls.

Since assuming the presidency last May, Duterte has waged a bloody war on drugs that has killed thousands.

President Donald Trump invited Duterte to the Oval Office, calling him a “good man.”
Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte declares a state of emergency in the whole country. In a warning to Abu Sayyaf, Duterte says "I will eat you alive."