Philippines President Threatens To Shoot Anyone Causing ‘Trouble’ During Coronavirus Pandemic

President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte gave a stern warning late Wednesday to those who went against government rules regarding stay-at-home orders, telling residents that they would be shot if they went against quarantine efforts.

“My orders to the police and military … if there is trouble and there’s an occasion that they fight back, and your lives are in danger, shoot them dead. Is that understood? Dead. Instead of causing trouble, I will bury you,” The president warned.

“It is getting worse,” Duterte said of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the Phillippines, more than 2,600 people have been infected, and 107 have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Duterte’s comments came shortly after reports of protests over food in a poor area of Manila, where there were reportedly some arrests made, according to Reuters. However, the country’s top police chief clarified the statements on Thursday, claiming that Duterte’s words were not to be taken literally and that no one would be shot over disregarding Coronavirus home-quarantine orders.

However, these harsh tactics are certainly not a far fetched idea, considering that Duterte’s war on drugs resulted in the mass murders of suspected drug dealers. These murders have led to international rights groups demanding an investigation into the anti-drug campaign.