Duterte blasts critics of drug war, seeks ‘mutual respect’ among nations

Before fellow world leaders and prominent think tanks, President Rodrigo Duterte justified his war on drugs anew, underscoring that the Philippines “want unimpeded freedom” in governing itself as a nation.

In a speech at the plenary session of the forum of the Valdai International Discussion Club in Sochi, Russia, Duterte also thanked President Vladimir Putin and affirmed the country’s commitment to a “robust and comprehensive” partnership with Russia.

“What we seek- as I assume what the Russian people and all nations also desire - is fairness, equality, and mutual respect. We want a strengthened rules-based order where countries, big or small, are treated the same,” he said.

“We want unimpeded freedom – guaranteed by our constitution - to exercise our right to govern ourselves as a people and as we saw it fit. And we want friends and partners to respect our independence to make sovereign decisions just as we respect theirs,” he added.

Duterte lamented that “some of our partners have hurled unfair criticisms against my government about perceived excesses in our fight against drugs.”

He said that some “so-called friends” act as if they know the answers to the problems of the Philippines.

“They create rules and norms for almost everyone, and some refuse to be bound by the same. Think of the UNCLOS, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and even the Convention on the Rights of the Child. They weaponize human rights oblivious to its damaging consequences to the very people they seek to protect,” he said.

“They see what they want to see to justify their preconceived notions, and not trying to understand that what truly is happening is there in my country.  Is this how friends treat each other?” Duterte added.

Duterte said he is tired of the “misguided and self-serving crusades of the few” and that it is time they are challenged.

“By their acts, they weaken my government’s ability to protect law-abiding citizens from the outlaws. They limit our capacity to stop the vicious cycle of internal conflict and underdevelopment. And they clip our wings making it more difficult for us to effect meaningful change for our people,” he said.

He said he was not against the United States or the West, but stressed that “the principles of respect for state sovereignty, non-intervention, and peaceful resolution of disputes must be upheld at all times, otherwise the order unravels.” —LDF, GMA News