Duterte suggests he'd rather be accused of EJK than corruption

President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday suggested that he would prefer to be accused of committing extrajudicial killings (EJK) rather than corruption.

Duterte, a former government prosecutor, said he did not want to face corruption-related charges before the Office of the Ombudsman.

"Gusto ko pag-alis ko dito ni singko centavos wala kayong madukot sa bulsa ko. And that is true until today. Wala akong extra expenses. I do not sign anything that gives me an additional five pesos of what I receive," he said in a speech before newly appointed officials in Malacañang.

"Na-fiscal ako, and then I became a special prosecutor for the Tanodbayan. Eh alang-alang naman magtindig ako balang araw ngayon magtindig diyan sa Ombudsman for...Well, okay ‘yang extrajudicial killing. Huwag lang 'yung corruption."

Duterte's statement comes after several countries and London-based Amnesty International urged the United Nations to probe the deaths linked to his war on drugs, which has reached more than 6,000 people since he assumed office in June 2016.

Malacañang earlier said that an international investigation on drug war deaths would be an interference with the country’s sovereignty.

It said the drug-related deaths were consequences of police operations when the suspects violently resist arrest that endanger the lives of the law enforcers who act on self-defense, which is sanctioned by law.

Two dozen countries had earlier backed a draft resolution which called on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to investigate drug-related killings in the Philippines.

Supported by mainly European states, Iceland submitted a draft resolution urging Manila to prevent extrajudicial killings, the text of which the Geneva forum would vote on later this week. The Philippines is a member of the UNHRC.

The document also urges the Philippine government to prevent enforced disappearances, carry out impartial investigations and hold perpetrators accountable in accordance with international norms and standards including on due process and rule of law.

The draft resolution was filed shortly after a three-year-old girl was caught in the crossfire during a police operation in Rizal on June 29. — BAP, GMA News