Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte tells interviewers he has cousins in ISIS


Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has been a fixture of international headlines since getting elected last summer, not just due to his devastatingly violent war on drugs but for his assurances that he has killed people and his regular insults of President Barack Obama. In his latest eyebrow-raising interview, Duterte told reporters that his cousins are allegedly fighting with the Islamic State.
"To be frank, I have cousins on the other side, with MI and MN," Duterte told the Philippines news website Rappler, referencing the Moro Liberation Front and the Moro National Liberation Front, both Muslim separatist groups. He also said he'd "heard" that "some" of his cousins "are with ISIS."
The interviewers asked what Duterte would say to his relatives in ISIS if he found himself in the same room with them. "Let's be understanding to each other," Duterte answered. "You are you and I am I. ... If we meet in one corner, so be it."
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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