Philippines strongly criticizes US for report on President Duterte

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Photo:Sputnik.

The Philippine government today summoned US Ambassador Sung Kim to meet with Salvador Medialdea, a top adviser to President Rodrigo Duterte, to protest the content of the "Global Threat Assessment" report released by the US last week.AFPreport

Philippine presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Manila strongly criticized Washington for the report's dismissal of the country's war on drugs.Mr. Duterteis a "regional threat".

"President Duterte is not a dictator or a dictator. He has always been law-abiding and loyal to the Philippine Constitution," Mr. Roque declared.

The US Embassy in the Philippines said that during the meeting, Ambassador Kim explained that the contents of this intelligence report had been widely reported in the media before, and affirmed that Washington would continue to cooperate with Manila.

President Duterte was elected in 2016 with a promise to kill tens of thousands of criminals, in order to eliminate the drug menace in the Philippines.

However, this campaign has faced opposition from many countries, including the US, after many drug trafficking and drug use suspects were executed on the streets.

The International Criminal Court began examining allegations earlier this month about Mr Duterte's anti-drug campaign, which claims thousands of people have been killed without trial.