President Rodrigo Duterte will not face a human rights probe conducted by Westerners, saying he wanted to be tried by a Philippine court.
“I will only face a – be tried or face a trial in a Philippine court presided by a Philippine – Filipino judge, prosecuted by a Filipino,” he said in an interview broadcast over the television station of preacher Apollo Quiboloy.
Duterte was reacting to last week’s vote of the UN Human Rights Council that approved a resolution, introduced by Iceland, to investigate extrajudicial killings in his bloody war on drugs.
“I will not…I will not answer a – I will not answer a Caucasian asking [a] question, or white man there. You must be stupid. Who are you? I am a Filipino, we have our courts here. Why would you have to bring me somewhere else? I would not like that,” he said.
Duterte said the Philippine justice system was functioning and that police pursuing his drug war had also been killed.
The drug war has claimed some 6,600 lives according to official records of deaths in legitimate police operations or buy-busts. Rights groups claim the total figure is about 27,000, including summary killings.
Duterte said he was surprised that Iceland was complaining over the drug war deaths.
“And for a country who does not have a night – it’s always like four o’clock in the afternoon all day long, wala naman silang — wala silang problema (they don’t have a problem)…As far as their streets, it’s safe because wala silang (they don’t have) full night na darkness,” he said.
Duterte reiterated that he was seriously considering cutting diplomatic ties with Iceland, despite opposition from his foreign secretary.
“I learned that there are about 2,000 workers in Iceland. I have not seen any rice – ice-eating white man here around. So sabi ko nga, I am seriously considering because it might affect the relations between our citizens and the host country,” he said. (PressONE.ph)