Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday warned that no foreign leader, even U.S, should question his deadly anti-drug campaign when they meet at an annual South-East Asian summit in Laos.
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Asked to respond during a news conference after the Group of 20 Summit in China, Obama said he had been told of Duterte’s comments, but the US president shrugged it off as another in a line of “colorful statements” from Duterte.
Duterte was answering a reporter’s question about how he intends to explain the extrajudicial killings in the Philippines to Obama.
Duterte was scheduled to hold a one-on-one meeting with Obama on Tuesday after the start of the ASEAN leaders’ summit.
Duterte was elected in May on a major war-on-drugs platform, and he is known for having a brusque speaking style and an uncompromising approach to politics.
Figures released by the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Sunday showed that 1,011 alleged drug users and dealers have been killed in police operations since Duterte began his six-year term on July 1, Agence France-Presse reports.
“We recognize the significant burden the drug trade plays in the Philippines and around the world”, Obama said. But he insisted that he would not shy away from raising concerns about the way the issue was being handled under the new administration.
Last week, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Obama was “not going to pull any punches” on human rights when he meets with Duterte. “My expectation, my hope, is that it could be dealt with constructively”.
Duterte declared a state of lawlessness on Saturday, a few hours after the Davao night market bombing late Friday night that killed 14 people and injured dozens. Duterte said in his remarks, adding that the Philippines had not received an apology from the United States for misdeeds committed during its colonization of the Philippines.
Duterte has quickly earned a reputation for making offensive comments about his critics, or others he does not like.
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And before the United Nations criticised him, he told the global body to “F*** you”.
