MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Rodrigo Duterte said that it was his job as a President to protect law-abiding citizens, not criminals.
"Take us out of your organization. You have done nothing anyway," Duterte was quoted as saying at a press briefing by CNN Philippines.
The president stressed that police were acting on his orders, hunting for criminals and killing them if they put up resistance.
"My job as President is to protect law-abiding citizens…I was never tasked by any law to protect criminals," he declared.
But the UN and numerous human rights groups said his campaign had led to a surge in killings of suspected drug addicts and dealers. UN special rapporteurs demanded Thursday that the country respect the basic human rights after 650 were killed in the past six weeks alone.
