Duterte won’t face international tribunal over drug war: You must be stupid

President Rodrigo Duterte said Wednesday he would never take part in a trial led by a foreign body in connection with his war on drugs.

Duterte issued the statement after the United Nations Human Rights Council passed last week a resolution to probe the Philippines’ bloody war on drugs, a move slammed by Malacañang as maliciously partisan and an affront to the country’s sovereignty.

"Look, as I have told you before, ladies and gentlemen of the world, I will only face, be tried or face a trial in a Philippine court, presided by a Filipino judge. Prosecuted by a Filipino. And maybe they can reimpose death penalty and die in Filipino land," he said in an interview over Pastor Apollo Quiboloy's television program.

Duterte said he will not answer questions from a Caucasian given that the Philippines has a working justice system.

"I will not answer a Caucasian, asking question white man there. You must be stupid. Who are you? I am a Filipino. We have our courts here. You have to bring me somewhere else? I would not like that. I have my country. It's working. I know it’s working. Justice is working here," he said.

Duterte added foreign entities can only intervene if there is a “total breakdown of justice in a country that nobody is willing to prosecute.”

"You just don't know the real situation. You better study. Then you force me to defend myself before you? Who are you?" he said.

"If you do that, I'll give you a lecture on the finer points of international law," the President said.

Duterte also took aim at the political opposition who were allegedly “itching to go to trial.” He said he was willing to debate with them.

Authorities reported that some 6,600 drug personalities have been killed in police operations around the country since Duterte assumed office in June 2016 until May 2019, but local and international human rights groups said the figures could be higher.

Duterte, who is facing two communications before the International Criminal Court over the drug war, had repeatedly said he could not be indicted for extrajudicial killings, arguing there was no such crime under the country’s Revised Penal Code.

He also said authorities can only use deadly force if their lives are in danger when drug suspects resist arrest. —KG, GMA News