Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has launched a profanity-filled tirade against the European Union, in his latest riposte to worldwide criticism of the rising death toll in his brutal crackdown on crime.
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After the European Parliament called for an end to the drug killings and expressed concern over the scale of deaths, Duterte hit back earlier this week with a profane insult and raised a fist with his middle finger thrust out.
One of the latest killings, which prompted the European Parliament to issue its recent condemnation against Manila, occurred on September 2, when police attacked a night market in the city of Davao and killed at least 14 people and injured 70 others for alleged drug-related crimes.
It was on his anti-drugs message that Duterte won the presidency in May this year, along with the promise that he would, in three to six months, completely eradicate the drug menace in the Philippines. Though the Asian nation is not a member of that body, the European Union officials have been publicly critical of Duterte.
The vote was called “unprecedented”, by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, and gained momentum after a speech by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, Duterte’s close political ally.
On Thursday, Duterte also challenged United Nations and European Union officials to a public debate, saying he would “take on them one by one in an open forum”.
According to the agreement, the Philippines is committed to upholding the rule of law, social democracy and human rights, as well as global human rights conventions.
The new leader of the Philippines is in a league of his own when it comes to presidential profanity. “Criminals. You call that genocide”, he said.
New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) last week said the United Nations should look into the Philippines drugs war and be allowed to interview witnesses. “Opposition to an impartial investigation into these killings only intensifies the spotlight on Duterte and his administration’s disregard for basic human rights protections for all Filipinos”.
“The Philippine Senate has a duty to promote accountability for the thousands of victims of this ‘war on drugs, ‘ rather than siding with those advocating summary killings as law enforcement”, Kine said.
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He emphasized, “The people of the Philippines have a right to judicial institutions that are impartial, and operate under due process guarantees; and they have a right to a police that serves justice”. Governments have the responsibility to uphold their human rights obligations and to respect the standards.
