President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday joked that vice mayors could save more money by getting mayors killed compared to mounting an election campaign to challenge the incumbent.
Duterte said in jest that it would only cost P50,000 to put a hit out on someone.
"To the vice mayors, don’t run in the next elections. Just pay someone to ambush the mayor so that you’ll be the… You’ll spend a lot of money during elections but for the ambush, P50,000 is enough," the President said in Visayan in a speech in Lapu-Lapu City.
READ: ICC Asks Philippines to Prove Its Drug War Investigation is Real
The President was in Cebu for a meeting of the government's national and regional task forces against insurgency.
"There are a lot of crazy people here in Cebu ‘no? But I love Cebu actually," he added.
Since Duterte assumed office in 2016, at least 25 local executives have been killed, some of whom are linked to the illegal drug trade.