The EU had expressed concern over the extraordinarily high numbers killed during police operations in the context of an intensified anti-crime and anti-drug campaign.
Advertisement
The leading critic of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drug crime was ousted on Monday (Sep 19) as head of a Senate investigation into the campaign, which has cost thousands of lives.
President Rodrigo Duterte again cursed European Union (EU) officials in a speech on Thursday, September 22.
“And then the European Union has the gall to condemn me”, he said, flashing a raised middle finger as he spoke in front of local officials in Davao. “I repeat it, f*** you”, he said. I will tell them, fuck you. “Please feel free to call us, the police, or do it yourself if you have the gun. you have my support”.
At the inauguration of the Filinvest Development Corporation Misamis Powerplant in Misamis Oriental, Duterte said he would send an invitation to United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki Moon and the European lawmakers to investigate the alleged summary executions of suspected drug lords in the country.
He said the members of the European Union had “guilt feelings” over the atrocities they had committed in the past and hence they are becoming strict about human rights.
On September 15, the European Parliament issued a statement calling on the Duterte government to “put an end” to extrajudicial killings in the Philippines.
Duterte dared global credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s to leave the country after it said that the Philippines will get no rating upgrade in the next two years because of his unpredictability and uncertainty over his domestic and foreign policies.
Duterte has already said that the Philippines will pursue “independent” foreign and military policies separate from U.S. interests in the region and may look towards closer ties with China and Russian Federation. “How many have they killed?” 1,700. Who are they?
In less than three months of the new Duterte administration, the government’s massive anti-drug campaign has prompted nearly 700,000 drug pushers and users to surrender themselves to the authorities.
An EU statement urged President Duterte to put an end to the “extrajudicial killings” and launch an alternative campaign in line with worldwide human rights laws.
Advertisement
Some 3,000 drug suspects have been killed either by police or unknown assailants since Duterte took over on June 30.
