PRESIDENT Duterte on Monday said that nobody has a right to lecture him on the alleged extrajudicial killings and human rights violations in the country, including United States (US) President Barack Obama.
“Who is he to ask me about human rights?” Duterte said when a reporter asked about the prospects of talking about human rights issues with Obama.
Duterte and Obama are set to engage in a bilateral talk on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Vientiane, Laos.
Insisting that he is not a lapdog of the Americans, Duterte, before departing for Laos, said that the Philippines is not a US colony anymore.
“The Philippines is not a vassal state. We have long ceased to be a colony of the United States,” he said.
“I am a President of a sovereign country and we have long ceased to be a colony. I don’t respond to anybody except the people of the Republic of the Philippines. Wala akong pakialam sa kanya,” he said.
‘Who is he?’
Duterte’s bloody war against drugs has drawn criticisms not only from local leaders but from US and United Nations, threatening to withdraw the Philippines from the organization. He later clarified that the remark was a joke.
“You must be respectful. You don’t just throw away questions and statements. ‘Putang ina’ mo murahin kita diyan sa forum na ‘yan,” he said.
Earlier, the White House, announcing Obama’s attendance in the Asean Summit, said that the American leader will not pull punches in raising human rights issue in a meeting with Duterte.
READ: ‘Obama won’t pull punches’ in rights talks with Duterte
Apology from US
Duterte said that Washington must apologize for their sins in the past and the problems they left behind after “invading” the Philippines.
The commander in chief attributed to the US the longstanding conflict in Mindanao. He noted that, at the turn of the century, 600,000 Moro died in the pacification campaign before the Americans left the Philippine Islands.
“If you can answer that question, give the apology. I will answer him. I am not beholden to anybody,” the President said.
“America has one to many to answer for the misdeeds in this country. Hanggang ngayon, hindi pa tayo nakatikim ng apology diyan. That is the reason why Mindanao continues to boil. Sabi mo, that was the last century, ‘yang mga wounds na iyan from generation to generation,” he said.
He said that the country has inherited the problem from the Americans because “they invaded this country and made us their subjugated people.”
He also hit columnists for supposedly acting like American lapdogs while questioning some people’s confidence in the US.
Claiming that “everybody has a terrible record of extrajudicial killings,” he said that the US must look into its own extrajudicial killings and human rights violations.
“Can he explain the 600,000 Moro massacred in this island? Do you want to see the pictures? Maybe I’ll ask him. I’ll make it public,” he said.
The President, stressing the war on drugs will continue, said that “he doesn’t give a shit about anybody observing my behavior.”
“I do not kneel down before anybody else. Except the Filipino in Quiapo walking in extreme poverty and hunger,” he said.
Despite the harsh words, Duterte said that he did not want to pick a fight with Obama./rga
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