Duterte Unfazed by IS Threats to His Life

Mnila, MINA – President Duterte said he cannot be deterred by threats on his life posed by Islamic State (IS) militants following his declaration that he cannot allow terrorists to establish an Islamic caliphate in the country, The Star reported Saturday.

“Assasination? Kung panahon ko na, panahon ko na (if it’s my time, it’s my time). So I should not be deterred. I should not be discouraged by just mere threats,” he said upon arrival from his three-day trip to India.

As a long-time politician with a foul mouth, Duterte said he has learned to live with threats.

“I’ve lived with it. I’ve been a prosecutor for nine years doing trial work. I live with a – it was a dangerous life then as it is now,” he said.

Duterte, 73, said he had long adopted the belief that if it one’s time to go, then it’s time to go.

“You know, I’ve been telling you right at the start, when my time comes, it will come. I will stick to what destiny has given. If I go tomorrow, then I go. I am gone,” Duterte said.

Duterte added that he had asked the Presidential Security Group (PSG) not to be so strict in cordoning off the local folk who want to see him up close.

“Sabi mo, ayaw mo, gusto mo mamatay, kung patayin ka rin, talagang mamatay ka (You say you don’t want, you want to die, if you will be killed you will really die). Especially ako, lumalapit ako sa tao (me, I’m close to the people). That’s the nightmare of the PSG,” he said.“Sabi ko, huwag niyo ako pigilan (I told them, do not stop me).”

While in India, Duterte poked fun at the IS threat, mocking the extremist terror group by saying he would rather have virgins in this lifetime rather than in heaven.

This came after the Indian news website ThePrint reported that the militants were targeting Duterte while in New Delhi.

Duterte was supposedly on the radar of the IS because of his vicious response to terror attacks in Mindanao, particularly after the siege of the Islamic City of Marawi on May 23 last year.

National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said the threats against the President is part of the territory and that the President and the PSG have been apprised of the situation, especially after the successful operations that freed Marawi from violent extremists.

“After President Duterte smashed them in Marawi, that’s the least they could do to their nemesis. Threaten him,” Esperon said in a text message to Malacañang reporters. (T/RS5/RS1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)