Philippine President Duterte: 'I will play along with you guys'

Philippine President Duterte warned that US President Obama, the European Union, and the United Nations "would be humiliated" if they investigated his anti-drug campaign.

Philippine President Duterte. Photo: Reuters

"These fools think they can do whatever they want because the Philippines is a small country. Maybe God gave you money, but we have brains," Reuters quoted Duterte as saying yesterday on television before hundreds of top Filipino businessmen, referring to the White House, the European Union (EU), and the United Nations (UN).

President Duterte said he was aware of the investigation conducted outside the Philippines by Obama, US Secretary of State John Kerry, the EU, and the UN Human Rights Council into alleged extrajudicial killings of drug addicts. However, he only learned about this passively, after answering related questions. On October 12, the Philippine president officially invited a UN expert on extrajudicial proceedings to the country to investigate the anti-drug campaign.

"I'm going to play along with you guys. I'm absolutely certain they can't be smarter than me. I'm going to ask five questions that will embarrass you. Beware, it's going to be a show," Duterte said.

In his speech yesterday, the Philippine president emphasized the need to "clean up" the streets of drug dealers, freeing the nation's younger generation from the scourge of drug addiction.

Since President Duterte launched his anti-drug campaign in late June, an estimated nearly 2,300 people have died, including more than 1,500 suspected drug users who were shot dead in police raids. Authorities initially reported over 3,600 deaths, but later concluded that many were not involved in drug-related activities.

Duterte still enjoys the support of 86% of Filipinos among the 1,200 participants in a recent survey.

According to VNE