Rodrigo Duterte: Philippines President Says He Killed Someone As Teenager
hilippines President Rodrigo Duterte has said he stabbed a person to death when he was a teenager.
"At 16, I killed someone," he told Filipinos in the Vietnamese city of Da Nang, where he is attending a regional summit. He said he stabbed the person "just over a look".
His spokesman later said his remarks had been "in jest".
Mr Duterte has previously said he killed criminal suspects as mayor of the city of Davao.
The Filipino leader is attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit, alongside regional leaders and US President Donald Trump.
He has presided over a massive crackdown on crime in the Philippines, which critics allege undermines fundamental human rights.
Mr Duterte has encouraged extrajudicial killings of those involved in the drugs trade, and said he would "be happy to slaughter" three million drug addicts in the country.
Addressing the Filipino community in Da Nang, he said he had killed a person during his violent teenage years, when he said he was in numerous fights and "in and out of jail".
But a spokesman for the president, Harry Roque, told the AFP news agency that the remarks were "in jest" and the Filipino leader often used "colourful language" when addressing Filipinos overseas.
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