Theresa May's pal "Go out and kill Communists"

THE PHILIPPINES president has offered a £340 bounty for each communist rebel killed by government forces in a bid to save on the state’s anti-insurgency costs.

Rodrigo Duterte also said the communists are easier to hit than birds because they have bigger heads.

His latest crass remarks, which the government issued to reporters yesterday, came after human rights groups condemned him this week for saying troops should shoot female communist guerrillas in the genitals to render them “useless”.

Mr Duterte said in a speech to troops at an air base in central Cebu city, referring to New People’s Army guerrillas: “You kill an NPA today and I’ll pay you 25,000 pesos.

“I was computing that if this drags on for four years, … it’ll be very expensive because it’s war. If I’ll just pay 25,000 for a life, I can save about 47 percent.”

There was no elaboration on how he came up with those figures and whether or how the government would pay for claimed kills. Backing up his offer, the brash-talking president encouraged state forces to go for the kill.

Mr Duterte added: “If you work really hard to crawl across the forest, you’ll surely be able to shoot even just one. If you can shoot a bird above you, then how much more an NPA whose head is so big?” Once again, his remarks made the crowd laugh.

However, his incendiary comments encourage government forces to commit war crimes instead of instilling a culture of accountability in accordance with international law, Human Rights Watch said.

Carlos Conde of the US-based rights group said: “Duterte’s pronouncements normalise the idea that government security forces can do as they wish to defeat their enemies, including committing summary executions and sexual violence.”

Theresa May has promised to do trade with the Philippines after Brexit.