Newly-elected Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has always been a controversial figure and his notoriety has reached the world.
In a recent post from American humor site Cracked.com (Caution: the link contains strong language), Duterte was called a "crazy person" and accused of bringing genocide to his country by writer Adam Tod Brown.
"Are you familiar with what's happening in the Philippines right now?
Sure, you know a crazy person was running for president or something. His name is Rodrigo Duterte," Brown wrote.
Brown has cited that comedian John Oliver has dedicated a video segment on his show Last Week Tonight that already declared him as the "Trump of the East" in reference to the pre-emptive Republican candidate. Oliver has been very vocal in his criticism of Trump.
Oliver aired the episode during the Philippine presidential campaign period where he noted that Duterte was leading the surveys. Eventually, Duterte won the presidency by considerable margin and was proclaimed last June 30.
While a Trump critic comparing a candidate as his counterpart was already harsh, Brown has taken it a step further when he said that Oliver's declaration was "actually kind of unfair to Trump, if I'm being totally honest."
Trump has been presented as a misogynist and even racist when he threatened to deport thousands of immigrants. In contrast, Duterte has vowed "to execute 100,000 to and dump them in the nearest body of water within six months of taking office."
This is because Duterte has vowed to eradicate crime and drug trafficking in the entire country in three to six months. The bold claim is one of the main reasons for his victory in the latest elections. Many public figures in the Philippines have declared support for him despite his bold claims and international criticism.
What prompted Brown to accuse the president of genocide is the current spate of killings that has happened all over the Philippines even before he assumed office. Random citizens have been shot in the streets and even suspected drug suspects have been killed during arrest as the police claim that the suspects were "resisting."
While Cracked is known for its sarcastic humor, the tone of the article turned serious when Brown warned that the situation "has the potential to turn into one of the biggest human rights disasters in history."
In the meantime, Duterte still continues to gain public support with his no holds barred, "permanent" solution. Thousands of drug users have willingly surrendered to authorities for fear of being the next victims of possible executions. This has presented as an early achievement of the Duterte administration and proof that he will intends to keep his word on his bold claims during the campaign.
Some of his supporters claim that Duterte's alleged favorable stance towards China, which in turn has given him the impression of being "anti-American," is behind the propaganda that the American media has hurled towards him.