Philippine president Duterte slammed over threat to shoot rebels in the genitals

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivers his speech to overseas Filipina workers (OFW) that arrived in Manila from Kuwait are at the Manila International Airport on February 13, 2018. Kuwait's foreign minister on February 13 condemned what he called an "escalation" by Manila after the Philippines expanded a ban on its nationals working in Kuwait. Manila on February 12 announced a "total ban" on new employment in Kuwait, including Filipinos who had already obtained employment permits but had not yet left for the Gulf country. Pic/AFP

Human rights groups say the Philippine president's remarks about troops shooting female communist rebels in the genitals to render them "useless" can encourage sexual violence and war crimes.

The left-wing group Karapatan said today that President Rodrigo Duterte "has distinguished himself as a frothing-in-the-mouth fascist who incites the worst violations of international humanitarian law."

Human Rights Watch said Duterte's remark, uttered last week before supposedly surrendered communist rebels, is the latest of Duterte's "series of misogynist, derogatory and demeaning statements he has made about women" that encourages state forces to commit sexual violence during armed conflict. Duterte acknowledged that he has a "bad mouth" and that he's not a statesman, but said "the problem here is that I won" the election.

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