Rodrigo Duterte says he personally killed people as Philippines city mayor

'I’d go around in Davao with a motorcycle, with a big bike around, and I would just patrol the streets, looking for trouble also. I was really looking for a confrontation so I could kill'

Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte (file photo) (AFP)

Rodrigo Duterte has said he used to patrol streets as a city mayor “looking for a confrontation so I could kill”.

The Philippine President said he personally killed drug suspects when he was mayor of Davao, a major city in the south of the archipelago nation.

He killed them because he wanted to show police officers “if I can do it, why can’t you,” Mr Duterte told a meeting of business leaders.

“In Davao I used to do it personally,” said the 71-year-old world leader, according to AFP news agency.

“I’d go around in Davao with a motorcycle, with a big bike around, and I would just patrol the streets, looking for trouble also. I was really looking for a confrontation so I could kill.”

Mr Duterte, who became president in June after a landslide election victory, was discussing his deadly war on drugs in which thousands of people have been killed by police and vigilantes.

There have been 5,927 deaths linked to Mr Duterte’s extreme crackdown on drug dealers and users since 1 July, reported CNN.

When he was elected after promising to fix what he called a broken country, the outspoken President pledged to bring back the death penalty and shoot to kill powers to the Philippines.

Mr Duterte is often openly hostile towards the United States, erupting with anger over its concerns about human rights abuses under his watch.

In October, he declared the Phillipines' "separation" from the US and said economic parternship with China was the country's "only hope" as his relations with the US cooled.

And during his speech late on Monday night, he promised to continue his brutal anti-crime measures, reported AFP.

“If they say that I am afraid to stop because of the human rights and guys […] including Obama: sorry, I am not about to do that,” he said.

However, following Donald Trump’s victory, he said he and the US President-elect were alike because they both swore frequently.

“Long live Mr Trump! We both curse at the slightest reason. We are alike,” he said during a visit to Malaysia.

Before he was elected President, Mr Duterte was mayor of Davao for most of the last 20 years, where his ruthless approach to crime led Time magazine to name him “The Punisher” in 2002.