Duterte maintained security forces were not behind the torture and extralegal killings of drug personalities.
Duterte also lambasted the US and Europe anew for lecturing about human rights despite their past atrocities.
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| President Rodrigo Duterte. Photo: Philstar |
The President slammed US President Barack Obama for his supposed failure to stop the killing of African-Americans. He also chided the US for using weapons of mass destruction as an excuse to invade Iraq.
Duterte criticized European nations for allegedly oppressing Arabs and Muslims, calling the Middle East “a destroyed part of the planet.”
He also assailed the EU for “pretending to be imbued with humanity” while closing its doors to migrants.
Duterte said the issue of extrajudicial killings had been used by his political rivals to discredit him. The President maintained he did not have links to the so-called Davao death squad, the vigilante group accused of executing several criminals while he was mayor of Davao City.
Presidential Communications Office Secretary Martin Andanar also said foreign critics of the administration could come to the Philippines and observe whatever was being done in the campaign against illegal drugs.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) also cited the need to explain to the international community the drug situation in the Philippines and the measures being undertaken by the government to address the problem.
DFA spokesman Charles Jose said it was important to engage with and present to the international community, including the UN and the EU, the Philippine narrative.
He added Duterte won in the last elections by promising to end criminality in the country.
For the period from July 1 to Sept. 17, the PNP reported conducting a total of 18,382 operations where 1,138 were killed after allegedly putting up a fight.
The PNP also reported the arrest of 17,319 people and the surrender of 714,217.
Last week, Duterte asked for another six months to get rid of the drug menace, saying he was not aware of the gravity of the illegal drug problem until people surrendered and after intelligence reports were submitted to him.
According to Philstar, the United Nations is sending an 18-man team to the Philippines on Sept. 28-29 to conduct a review of the human rights situation in the country. The UN experts are from the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
