Duterte swears anew at EU, twits ‘multiracial’ US State Department

“F_ _ _ing sh_ _” was how President Rodrigo R. Duterte described the European Union (EU) when he slammed anew the politico-economic bloc in his remarks on Thursday.

Mr. Duterte’s latest remarks came after the 28- member bloc recently summoned a Filipino envoy to Brussels to explain the President’s “unacceptable” remarks in which he had threatened to “hang” EU officials for opposing the revival of the death penalty here.

The US State Department too was again not spared from Mr. Duterte’s words, calling it “convoluted” because it is “multiracial.”

In his speech yesterday before newly appointed government officials at Malacañang, Mr. Duterte criticized once again the EU, saying it should not see itself as “the educated one (who) should be listened to.”

“Mga inutil itong mga puti putangina niya. Sa totoo lang (These white sons of bitches are useless, to be honest),” Mr. Duterte said.

“Do not impose your… whatever it is… values and everything because we hate you for being a hypocrite. You are the incongruity of the times.”

“You know if you would ask me how I would describe them (EU officials), just tell them the mayor has said, ‘You’re a f_ _ _ing sh_ _,’” he added.

GSP+

The EU has been on the receiving end of Mr. Duterte’s profanity-laced rants for criticizing Manila’s war on illegal drugs. He had also challenged EU and other nations critical of his administration to withdraw their aid to the Philippines.

Since Mr. Duterte rose to power in June last year, around 8,000 people have been killed in his government’s deadly war on drugs, a figure challenged by the National Police, to be sure.

To recall, the EU Parliament recently adopted a resolution calling for the immediate release of Philippine Senator Leila M. de Lima, a leading critic of Mr. Duterte’s drug war.

The Parliament had also cautioned that lack of “substantive improvements” in stopping drug-related deaths “in the next few months” may result in Manila losing the Generalized System of Preferences Plus (GSP+) scheme.

GSP+ is a trade incentive allowing developing countries to pay little or no duties on their exports to the EU.

On March 24, a New York Times ( NYT) editorial urged Manila’s trading partners to make Mr. Duterte “accountable” for the killings in his drug war by following EU’s plan to impose tariffs on Philippine goods. The NYT has since disputed Malacañang’s position that the publication is engaged in a demolition job on Mr. Duterte.

Early this year, EU had sent a monitoring team here in Manila to determine the Philippines’ compliance with conditions under the GSP+. The review is part of EU’s biennial assessment of the implementation of the said trade incentive.

To note, GSP+ has allowed the Philippines tariff-free exports of over 6,000 products to the EU since December 2014. The scheme requires compliance with 27 international conventions, which include a commitment to never reinstate the death penalty.

Last January, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said the GSP+ status could be sacrificed if it stood in the way of bringing back capital punishment.

‘MULTIRACIAL’ STATE DEPT.

Although no longer in office, former US President Barack H. Obama, Jr., whom the Philippine leader had also lashed out on for condemning the drug war, continued to be the focus of Mr. Duterte in his speech yesterday.

“Who are you to chastise me? P_ __ _ _ INA kang Obama ka, go to hell. O di sumikat pa tuloy ako ( You son of a bitch Obama, go to hell. So that made me famous),” Mr. Duterte said.

He added: “Ito si Obama ang utak nito sisirain ang mundo nito. Maniwala kayo (This Obama’s mind will wreck this world. Believe me).”

The firebrand leader then took a swipe at the US State Department and described the agency as “convoluted” for being multiracial. “In that State Department, it is convoluted. Why? Because it is multiracial and that will destroy the country one day,” he said.

Incidentally, the US envoy currently posted in Manila is Korean-American Sung Y. Kim.

Mr. Duterte also recalled once again his phone conversation with US President Donald J. Trump soon after the latter’s election victory last November.