MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday night was evidently irked by a question of a British journalist who pointed out that deaths in the government's war on drugs have outnumbered those during the regime of Ferdinand Marcos.
At a news conference upon the arrival of Duterte in Davao City from Peru, Channel 4's Asia correspondent Jonathan Miller asked the president if he realized that more people were killed in five months into his presidency than the nine years of Marcos' dictatorship.
Duterte indirectly answered the question, instead citing human rights violations of the United States before he cursed at Miller under his breath.
"President Duterte does not like to be challenged about his brutal war on drugs," Miller observed, as posted on his Twitter account.
Miller also noted that Duterte has repeatedly reneged on his promise to stop swearing in public addresses.