Duterte slams US again, with new envoy present
PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte on Monday night expressed anew his animosity toward Washington’s recent decision to withhold a major aid package for the Philippines over human rights concerns in the government’s deadly war against drugs — this time with the new US ambassador in the audience.
“I do not need your assistance, challenge... Millennium Challenge [Corp.], 400 million? China is going to release to me 50 billion, go home, I do not need your aid,” Mr. Duterte said in a trade forum in Malacañang, which was attended by US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Y. Kim.
The chief executive was responding to the Millennium Challenge Corp.’s ( MCC) nonrenewal of a five-year grant to the Philippines due to issues on “rule of law” and “civil liberties” in the course of the administration’s intense crackdown on narcotics, which has so far took the lives of more than 5,000 alleged drug peddlers.
WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE
Mr. Duterte — who has become known for his profanities and tirades against the US, as well as the European Union and the United Nations — has also cautioned Washington off icials about the “language” they use when addressing Asians.
“If you are dealing with Asians, with due respect to the Ambassador of United States, you are dealing with Asians, be careful of your language. You could not do that to the Japanese and to the Koreans and to the… They feel insulted,” the Philippine leader said as Korean- American Mr. Kim listened to him.
Mr. Kim replaced Philip S. Goldberg, whose relations with Mr. Duterte were marked by tension towards the end of his posting.
Mr. Goldberg criticized a rape joke by Mr. Duterte in the course of this year’s election campaign, regarding a 1989 prison riot in Davao City that led to the rape and murder of an Australian missionary.
“Son of a bitch, he annoys me,” Mr. Duterte, in turn, had said of Mr. Goldberg whom he also branded as “gay.”
In a media interview on Dec. 16, Mr. Duterte threatened to junk the Visiting Forces Agreement ( VFA) after MCC’s action, but said he will “reassess” this move following his phone call with “very courteous” US president-elect Donald J. Trump and the arrival of “very good ambassador of Korean descent” Mr. Kim.
In an e-mail reply to BusinessWorld on Saturday, the US Embassy in Manila said it “will work closely with the Government of the Philippines to address any concerns they may have” amid Mr. Duterte’s warning to abrogate the VFA.