Philippines president threatens to 'break up' with US

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday that he would "eventually" cut ties with the United States.

Duterte again hit out at the United States and its President, the European Union and the United Nations for using human rights to criticise his campaign to curb the illicit drug menace in the Philippines, Xinhua news agency reported.

"I am very emotional because America has certainly failed us," Duterte added.

"I will be re-configuring my foreign policy," Duterte said in a speech before the Jewish Association of the Philippines in Makati City.

He added, "Eventually I might in my time break up with America. I would rather go to Russia and to China."

In another speech earlier, Duterte vowed to continue the war on drugs amidst the "hypocrisy" of the US, the EU and the UN.

"I will not stop despite the hypocrisy of the EU, and America and Obama. They seem to refuse to understand," Duterte said.

Duterte said he has no plan to stop his rant against his critics.

Duterte again apologised to the Jewish community. "I am not one of the racist member of this republic," Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying.

"But it was only because that they pictured me to be killing so many persons of the drug problem. And I would say that it is true but not all were killed with their hands tied behind their backs. That would have been an exaggeration," he explained.

On October 2, Duterte apologised to the Jewish community who were outraged by his comments that made reference to Adolf Hitler who ordered the cold-blooded killings of the Jews.

"I would like to make it (clear) now, here and now, that there was never an intention on my part to derogate the memory of the six million Jews murdered," Duterte said in a speech in Bacolod City in the central Philippines.

--IANS

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