PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday, November 8, denied any role in the killing of human rights lawyer Benjamin Ramos, one of the lawyers who provided assistance to the families of nine sugarcane farm workers who were killed in Sagay City, Negros Occidental in October.
"In the process of killing people and including 'yung abogado nila, kami pa ang pagbibintangan, ang gobyerno . What the f****** s***? Why would I kill a lawyer na baka small time?" the President said.
(In the process of killing people and including the communists' lawyer, they're blaming us, the government. What the f****** s***? Why would I kill a lawyer who perhaps is a small time?)
"Why would I assassinate him? For what? Whether you have a lawyer or not, you cannot occupy somebody else's land by force and intimidation. I will not allow it. That's anarchy," he added.
Although he did not mention names, the President was apparently talking about Ramos because he was talking about the Sagay massacre when he made these remarks.
Ramos was gunned down by unidentified assailants in Negros Occidental on Tuesday night, November 6.
The slain farm workers were members of the left-leaning National Federation of Sugarcane Workers (NFSW). They were occupying an idle portion of a sugarcane farm under the "Bungkalan" campaign when they were shot.
On Wednesday, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said it was "reckless, irresponsible, and baseless" for critics to blame Duterte for the killing of Ramos. (SunStar Philippines)