Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 22) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday said while he and Russian President Vladimir Putin remain friends, he is different from his Russian counterpart.
During the ceremonial signing of the law amending the Public Service Act, Duterte said a Chinese invasion could happen should Russia use nuclear weapons in its conflict with Ukraine. He then defended the government’s campaign against illegal drugs and compared himself with Putin.
“Ako kaibigan ko si—huwag ninyo ilabas ito sa TV ha? Putulin niyo—kaibigan ko si Putin pero sumobra,” Duterte said.
[Translation: I am friends with—don’t air this on TV. Edit it—I am friends with Putin but he went overboard]
“Ang pinapatay ko kriminal. Si Putin binobomba pati babae, bata, lahat na. Sino pinatay ko dito na…para naman sa inyo ‘yan, para sa inyong mga anak,” he added.
[Translation: I kill criminals. Putin bombs even women, children, all…Who am I killing? This is all for you, for your children.]
Duterte also reiterated that he does not recognize the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is looking into the bloody war against illegal drugs.
“At saka ‘yan ICC, t****** nya (And that ICC, son of a *****), they cannot try me in a million years because I do not recognize,” he said.
The ICC’s investigation has been suspended following the Philippine government’s deferral request.
RTV Malacañang stopped the livestreaming of Duterte’s speech on its Facebook and YouTube accounts. When the video was uploaded Monday night, the part of Duterte’s speech wherein he compared himself with Putin was gone. It was also removed from the transcript provided by the Presidential Communications Operations Office.
CNN Philippines’ Triciah Terada contributed to this report.
READ: Duterte: China could invade if Russia uses nuclear weapons
