President Rodrigo Duterte has accused executives of two water concessionaires and major telecommunication firms in the country as "thieves."

In a speech in San Isidro, Leyte on Thursday night, Duterte also said some wealthy people in the Philippines are "crazy" and should be killed.

"There are rich people in the Philippines who are crazy. They are the ones we should kill. Just wait for my signal. Behind a killing is a leader, especially if his followers are stupid and would just fire whenever they are told to," he said in the local dialect.

He said these rich people have "fooled" the Filipinos.

"Just like Ayala, just like Pangilinan, who owns Globe and Smart. They are all thieves, those sons of b******. That’s the whole truth," the President said.

"They are listening now because this is being broadcast nationwide. Well, it’s good for them to hear this. They have violated the rights of the people. They are just distributors of water yet they have become millionaires, while the Filipinos have lost. That’s why I am angry at them," he added.

Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala is the chairman of Globe Telecom while his brother Fernando Zobel de Ayala is the chairman of Manila Water Company, Inc. On the other hand, Pangilinan is the chairman of Smart Communications and Maynilad.

Duterte, however, said there are also many rich people who are good and have a conscience.

"But these guys, they own it all. All the businesses in the Philippines. The greed in you is insatiable," he said.

This was the reason, Duterte said he was trying to correct all of this.

"I am the only President who dared to go against the rich," he said.

Duterte earlier allowed Dito Telecommunity Corp., owned by Davao-based businessman Dennis A. Uy, to be the third telco player to break the duopoly in the country.

Duterte also ordered the concerned government agencies to come up with revised water concession agreements, without the "onerous provisions," with Manila Water and Maynilad. Celerina Monte/DMS