Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is at it again

CONTROVERSIAL Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte has taken it to a new level asking when a baby is raped, where is God?

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has raised eyebrows once again, this time for his comments on God. Picture: Bullit Marquez

CONTROVERSIAL Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte is at it again.

No stranger to making outlandish statements and comments, the firebrand leader has this time taken things to a whole new level by asking when a baby is raped, where is God?

In a speech given yesterday afternoon in Malacanang, Duterte was calling for the reintroduction of the death penalty so criminals can pay for their sins because “God may not exist”.

“Every president along the way didn’t impose it only because the Catholic Church and all the bleeding hearts would say that only God could kill. But what if there is no God?” he said.

“When a one-year-old baby, 18-months-old baby is taken from the mother’s arms brought under a jeep and raped and killed. So where is God? My God, where are you?”

While he said he believed in God, he admitted he often asked him where he was when he needed him most and if he would judge both the living and the dead, Inquirer.net reported.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte visits the Philippine Army Scout Rangers at their headquarters at Camp Tecson in San Miguel township, north of Manila, Philippines Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. A former Filipino militiaman testified before the country's Senate that President Duterte, when he was still a mayor, ordered him and other members of squad to kill criminals and opponents in assaults that left about 1,000 dead. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

“What would be the purpose of all of that if the heartaches, sorrows and agony have already been inflicted in this world?” he continued.

Duterte, who grabbed global attention when he promised to kill 100,000 criminals within six months of taking office in May, said he wouldn’t be deterred by “bleeding hearts and priests” who said the death penalty didn’t work.

He also claimed past leaders did not have the political will and strength to impose the death penalty which he claimed would deter criminals from offending.

Duterte has come under fire from various human rights groups over his tough stance on crime and drugs which has left more than 3500 people dead.

More than 600,000 others have surrendered to authorities for fear of being killed.

Duterte has been an outspoken critic of the church, which has raised eyebrows in the staunch Catholic country.

Earlier this month, Duterte revealed he once considered joining the church.

During a gathering of a religious group in Manila, he said: “I once considered being a priest,” Rappler reported.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte makes a rude gesture to media. Picture: Al Jazeera grab

The President then took it a step further by saying: “It’s good I didn’t join the priesthood or else now I would be a homosexual.”

He later apologised for his choice of words.

However Duterte has been less apologetic about his stance on crime, even going so far as to give the European Union the middle finger when it raised concerns about the ongoing killings of drug suspects.

“I have read the condemnation of the European Union. I’m telling them ‘F**k you’,” Duterte said during a speech last week.

He also called the EU a bunch of hypocrites, adding it had no right to criticise his nation when abuses were taking place within its own borders.

In this Friday, Sept. 23, 2016 photo, a police SWAT member stands guard as police operatives examine the scene where two bodies lay on a road after being killed in a police drug "buy-bust" operation before dawn in Pasig city, east of Manila, Philippines. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Thursday he will invite the U.N. chief and European Union officials to investigate his bloody anti-drug crackdown, but only if he can question them in public afterward to prove their human rights concerns are baseless. More than 3,000 suspected drug dealers and users have been killed since July and more than 600,000 others have surrendered for fear of being killed in Duterte's crackdown. Despite growing alarm, Duterte said he won't stop the campaign.(AP Photo/Bullit Marquez, File)