--- description: Addressing the Filipino community in Laos, Duterte threatened to "eat" members of the Islamist militant group Abu Sayyaf title: Duterte Tells Philippine Terrorists He'll Eat Them Alive image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt414915beffba5708/6988a50f2dce01b7299ea923/gettyimages-599657406.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 'I Will Eat You Alive,' Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte Tells Terrorists ## Video: Rodrigo Duterte 'Regrets' His Remark About President Obama [Watch (HLS stream): Rodrigo Duterte 'Regrets' His Remark About President Obama](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/FOGX4t0T.m3u8) (1:55)  _Published 2016-09-06. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte expressed regret Tuesday over his “son of a bitch” remark while referring to President Barack Obama._ by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 7, 2016 3:47 AM CUT  Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte attends a welcome dinner at the ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, Laos, on Sept. 6, 2016 Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte attends a welcome dinner at the ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, Laos, on Sept. 6, 2016Ye Aung—AFP/Getty Images by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 7, 2016 3:47 AM CUT Rodrigo Duterte has made bombastic, crude public statements the hallmark of his political career, [joking about gang rape](http://time.com/4297234/rodrigo-duterte-davao-city-philippines-rape-president-election-jacqueline-hamill/ "undefined"), referring to global leaders like the [Pope](http://time.com/4328906/rodrigo-duterte-pope-francis-philippine-president-son-whore/ "undefined") and President [Obama](http://time.com/4479698/duterte-obama-regret-remark/ "undefined") as a “son of a whore” and threatening to [“butcher”](http://time.com/4388937/philippines-rodrigo-duterte-president-inauguration/ "undefined") criminals and drug addicts. This week, the President of the Philippines added [allusions to cannibalism](http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/813463/i-will-eat-abus-alive-duterte "undefined") to his rapidly growing lexicon of controversial utterances. In a Monday-night address to the Filipino community in Laos, where he is attending the [ASEAN Summit](http://time.com/4479800/obama-duterte-dispute-risks-overshadowing-southeast-asian-summit/ "undefined"), Duterte threatened to “eat” members of the Islamist militant group Abu Sayyaf that operates in his country’s South, according to the _Philippine Daily Inquirer_. “If I have to face them, you know I can eat humans,” he was quoted as saying, to an audience that reportedly included young children. “I will really open up your body. Just give me vinegar and salt, and I will eat you.” Duterte has[ espoused](http://www.rappler.com/nation/139125-duterte-abu-sayyaf-not-criminals "undefined") a somewhat[ conciliatory approach](http://time.com/4388937/philippines-rodrigo-duterte-president-inauguration/ "undefined") towards the [long-running insurgency](http://time.com/4328991/samal-philippines-isis-sulu-davao-abu-sayyaf/ "undefined") since he took office about two months ago, a sharp contrast to his scorched-earth [war on drugs](http://time.com/4462352/rodrigo-duterte-drug-war-drugs-philippines-killing/ "undefined") in which over 2,000 people have been killed thus far. However, last week’s [bombing](http://time.com/4478042/philippines-market-explosion/ "undefined") by ISIS-linked Abu Sayyaf in Davao — the city he was mayor of for more than two decades — prompted him to [declare a state of emergency](http://time.com/4479616/rodrigo-duterte-philippines-obama-davao-blast/ "undefined") and set his sights firmly on the terrorists. “Go ahead. Set off bombs. Time will come when I will eat you in front of the people,” he threatened the militants during his speech. “I will devour you.” \[[_Philippine Daily Inquirer_](http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/813463/i-will-eat-abus-alive-duterte "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4481495/philippines-duterte-abu-sayyaf-terrorist-eat-alive/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4481495/philippines-duterte-abu-sayyaf-terrorist-eat-alive/"},"headline":"'I Will Eat You Alive,' Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte Tells Terrorists","datePublished":"2016-09-07T03:47:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:26:01.722Z","description":"\"Just give me vinegar and salt\"","url":"https://time.com/4481495/philippines-duterte-abu-sayyaf-terrorist-eat-alive/","keywords":["Philippines","war on drugs","terrorists","Rodrigo Duterte"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt414915beffba5708/6988a50f2dce01b7299ea923/gettyimages-599657406.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt414915beffba5708/6988a50f2dce01b7299ea923/gettyimages-599657406.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"LAOS-ASEAN-SUMMIT","caption":"LAOS-ASEAN-SUMMIT","creditText":"Ye Aung—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4481495/philippines-duterte-abu-sayyaf-terrorist-eat-alive/","name":"'I Will Eat You Alive,' Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte Tells Terrorists"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Rodrigo Duterte 'Regrets' His Remark About President Obama","description":"Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte expressed regret Tuesday over his “son of a bitch” remark while referring to President Barack Obama.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/FOGX4t0T/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-09-06T15:00:30.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/FOGX4t0T.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4481495/philippines-duterte-abu-sayyaf-terrorist-eat-alive/","duration":"PT1M55S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4481495/philippines-duterte-abu-sayyaf-terrorist-eat-alive/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```