His outrageous statements and theatrical behaviour have earned him nicknames like “the punisher”, “Dirty Harry” and the Donald Trump of Asia. But there is nothing comical about the actions of Rodrigo Duterte, the president of the Philippines.

惊人的言论和夸张的行为，为罗德里戈•杜特尔特(Rodrigo Duterte)赢得了“惩罚者”、“肮脏的哈里”，还有“亚洲特朗普”等绰号。但这位菲律宾总统的行动一点也不滑稽。

Since his election in May, he has described the ambassador from the US, his country’s staunchest ally, as “the son of a whore”, urged police and the public to slaughter suspected drug addicts and advocated the murder of “corrupt” journalists. Mr Trump’s excesses pale into insignificance compared with the man who is supposed to lead this country of 100m.

自5月当选以来，杜特尔特曾称美国——菲律宾最坚定的盟友——驻菲大使为“婊子养的”，鼓励警方和公众对贩毒嫌疑人“杀无赦”，还提倡谋杀“腐败”记者。与这位领导1亿菲律宾人的总统相比，唐纳德•特朗普(Donald Trump)的过分行为算不上什么。

In answer to Mr Duterte’s calls for instant justice, an estimated 800 people have been killed by police or vigilantes since his election. More than 600,000 drug dealers and users have turned themselves in rather than risk becoming the victims of extrajudicial killings, piling pressure on a prison system that was already overflowing.

为响应杜特尔特呼吁的“立即正义”，自他当选以来估计已有800人被警方或自告奋勇的义务警员打死。为了不成为法外处决的受害者，60多万毒贩和瘾君子向警方自首，令本已人满为患的监狱系统压力倍增。

The vast majority of those killed were hardly kingpins. Many were ordinary addicts from the poorest neighbourhoods. Human rights groups have condemned the murders and politicians have warned the president may face trial in the International Criminal Court in The Hague for crimes against humanity. Perhaps most worrying of all is the fact Mr Duterte is just carrying out the brutal policies he advocated on the campaign trail and which helped him win the election.

在被杀害的人员中，绝大多数不是头目，许多是来自最贫穷社区的普通吸毒者。人权组织已对这些谋杀行为予以谴责，政治人士也警告杜特尔特可能因反人类罪受到海牙国际刑事法院(International Criminal Court)审判。或许最令人担忧的事实是，杜特尔特是在执行他在竞选时提出的，并帮助他赢得大选的粗暴政策。

The popularity of his approach is an indictment of his predecessors’ inability to curb corruption, an amphetamine epidemic and a soaring crime rate. But his methods are unlikely to solve any of these problems and will cause lasting damage to his country’s fledgling democratic institutions.

杜特尔特的方式如此广受拥护，是对其前任无力遏制腐败、安非他明(amphetamine)泛滥、犯罪率飙升的一个控诉。但他的方法不太可能解决上述任何问题，反而会对菲律宾尚不成熟的民主体制造成长远损害。

The president has turned his invective on some of these institutions, releasing a list of about 150 judges, mayors, police, military and government officials he says are involved in the illegal drug trade and ordering them to hand themselves in or be hunted down. By cancelling these officials’ weapons permits and in some cases removing their government security details he has tacitly encouraged vigilantes to carry out targeted assassinations of public officials. On top of that, Mr Duterte’s critics have pointed out numerous errors in his list, including cases of mistaken identity and several officials who died or were dismissed years ago.

杜特尔特把其中一些体制内机构纳入辱骂范围，他公布了一份约150人的名单，其中包括法官、市长、警察、军人和政府官员。杜特尔特称这些人参与非法毒品交易，命令他们自首，否则将遭到抓捕。取消这些官员的持枪证，在某些情况下甚至撤除他们的官方警卫员，意味着杜特尔特暗中鼓励自告奋勇者对公职人员进行有针对性的暗杀。这还不算，杜特尔特的批评者指出这份名单存在大量差错，有些是张冠李戴，多名官员要么身故，要么已在多年前被解职。

Another campaign promise the president seems determined to carry out is the burial of former Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the Heroes Cemetery in Manila. This has prompted angry protests from those opposed to honouring a man accused of the torture and murder of thousands. It is also quickly becoming a symbol of Mr Duterte’s authoritarian instincts. On Monday, he promised to issue more lists of officials he claims are corrupt and must be “purged” and last week he suggested he might introduce martial law. Given the country’s experience under Marcos, this is a serious threat.

杜特尔特似乎还决心兑现另一个竞选承诺：将前菲律宾独裁者费迪南德•马科斯(Ferdinand Marcos)葬在马尼拉英雄公墓(Heroes Cemetery)。此举引发一些人的愤怒抗议，他们反对纪念一个被指刑讯并杀害成千上万人的独裁者。此事也迅速成为杜特尔特威权冲动的一个象征。周一，杜特尔特承诺将公布更多官员名单，他称这些人是贪官污吏，必须被“清除”。上周他还暗示可能出台戒严令。鉴于该国在马科斯统治时期的遭遇，这是一个严重威胁。

Instead of indulging dictatorial fantasies, Mr Duterte should focus on more pressing problems facing his country, which range from a long-running insurgency in the south to dangerous territorial disputes with Beijing in the South China Sea. Meanwhile, other countries, especially the US, should make clear to the president that his disdain for human rights is unacceptable.

与其纵容自己的独裁幻想，杜特尔特更应专注国家所面临的更紧迫的问题，包括南方的长期叛乱，以及在南中国海与中国危险的领土争端。此外，其他国家——尤其是美国——应该向这位总统表明，他对人权的藐视是不可接受的。

Washington has said $32m in aid for law enforcement recently provided to the Philippines is intended to promote human rights, due process and the rule of law. Any further aid should be withheld until Mr Duterte shows he understands what those concepts mean.

美国政府表示近期向菲律宾提供的3200万美元执法援助资金是为了促进当地人权、正当法律程序以及法治。在杜特尔特展示他理解这些概念的涵义之前，应该搁置进一步援助。