Philippine president asks EU diplomats to leave the country

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered European Union (EU) diplomats to leave the country within 24 hours.

Duterte "went berserk" and forced EU diplomats to leave the Philippines within 24 hours.

"Leave the country within 24 hours," the President said.made such a statement to the EU ambassadors.in the Philippines, AFP news agency said.

According to The Guardian news site, the reason for President Rodrigo Duterte's anger is because he does not accept EU criticism of the domestic drug crime crackdown campaign he has led.

Along with ordering EU diplomats to leave the Philippines within 24 hours, while speaking at a newly opened press conference room in the capital Manila on October 12, Mr. Duterte also said that they cannot return to the Philippines.

"You think we are fools here... The ambassadors of those countries will get a lesson now. Because we can cut off diplomatic channels tomorrow. You leave our country within the next 24 hours, all of you," Duterte said.

It is unclear exactly what Mr. Duterte meant by this statement, whether he actually expelled all EU diplomats from his country. The Philippine president has long been known for his strong, even rude, statements to those who criticize his way of running the country.

Also venting his anger, the Philippine president condemned European officials who had threatened that the Philippines could be expelled from the United Nations Human Rights Council if the Duterte administration continued to carry out its controversial anti-drug campaign, which has seen thousands of people executed without trial.

“Do it, you fool. Do it now,” Mr. Duterte angrily said. The Philippine Foreign Ministry declined to comment on Mr. Duterte’s threat to EU diplomats and asked journalists to contact the President’s Office directly for clarification.

According to Sputnik