MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to slap a human rights advocate who suggested that
the chief executive should be arrested for extrajudicial killings linked to the so-called war on drugs.
In a press briefing Tuesday night, Duterte said he cannot trust Vice President Leni Robredo to have access to confidential matters on the campaign against illegal drugs.
Duterte said he would slap what he described as a United Nations prosecutor in front of Robredo.
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"Pati
ba
naman ‘yang —
‘yang prosecutor and the tweet.
Nakita
ko ‘
yung tweet eh. “I am… I am packed and ready to
go and arrest Duterte.” ‘Yan
ang
imbitahin mo?
Ganun
ang
salita
sa
akin. P*****
* i**, Leni,
sa
harap mo
sampalin
ko ‘
yan.
Dalhin mo
dito," Duterte said.
(Also, that prosecutor and the tweet. I saw tweet. "I am packed and ready to
go and arrest Duterte" You
will invite that? Those were the words said against me. Leni, I will slap that in front of you. Bring him here.)
Duterte, however, appears to have
been confused when he said "prosecutor", presumably referring to International Criminal Court prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, who is handling the review of the Philippines' war on drugs.
It was actually Phelim Kine, director of research and investigations at the Physicians for Human Rights, who tweeted that.
"Dear VP [Robredo] - my bags
are packed and I'm ready to come to the Philippines to help advise how to end this murderous 'drug war,'" Kine tweeted November 11.
Dear VP @lenirobredo - my bags
are packed and I'm ready to come to the #Philippines to help advise how to end this murderous "drug war."
Meanwhile here is my Recommendation No. 1: Arrest #Duterte and his henchmen for inciting & instigating mass murder https://t.co/adVEP2lTsq
— Phelim Kine ?? (@PhelimKine) November 11, 2019https://
t
.co/FpxxCT7jIn
Kine, former deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia Division, tweeted this in reaction to a report that Robredo will meet with UN officials to discuss the government's anti-narcotics campaign.
READ: Human rights researcher offers help to ‘
The human rights advocate has been vocal on his criticism on the drug war, particularly against human rights violations committed in the
conduct of the campaign.
The vice president tapped the United States and the UN to discuss collaboration on addressing the drug problem after accepting her designation as co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs.
"I dare you, invite him. Sinabi ko kasi sa Immigration, papasukin ninyo. I dare you. Kung talagang dedicated ka, papasukin mo dito ‘yang p****
* i****
‘yan. Puntahan kita sa opisina mo, sampalin ko ‘yan sa harap mo. Ito isampal ko. Totoo," Duterte said.
(I told the [Bureau of] Immigration to let him enter the country. I dare you. If you
are really dedicated, let him in. I will go to your office, I will slap him in front of you. For real.)
The president further justified his reaction, saying he
was not given the chance to
be heard.
"
Of course I tried answering. I tried to —
mga disclaimer. Nobody is listening," he said.