MANILA - President-elect Rodrigo Duterte has a piece of advice to the two independent experts of the United Nations (UN) who have criticized him for supposedly inciting violence against journalists, describing them as "overworked" and "sound beat."

"Go home and get some sleep. You are overworked and sound beat. Your statement is anchored on the wrong premise," Duterte said.

In a statement issued through incoming presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo on Wednesday, the 71-year-old Duterte stressed that he never claimed that the murder of journalists involved in corruption is justified.

But he reiterated that many members of the media are killed for taking sides and accepting bribes.

"What I said is that you don't have to be a journalist to be the subject of an assassination. There are many cases where journalists are killed by reason of their advocacies but there are those who are killed because they take sides and accept bribes and renege on their commitments," he said.

Duterte also insisted that he does not tolerate the killing of journalists whatever the motive is, vowing to pursue and prosecute those behind the crime.

READ: Duterte condemns all killings of journalists: Panelo

The "noble vocation" of journalism, however, he pointed out, does not apply to extortionists and criminals.

"By chance - do they know the rule on fair play and the right to be heard? It seems to me you are more adept at fumigation, sometimes aka as foul or idiocy. I do not condone nor tolerate killing of journalists regardless of the motive of the killers or the reason for their killing," said Duterte.

"My duty as President is to uphold and enforce the law and I will pursue and prosecute these killers to the hilt in accordance with law, and I will be - as I have been - protective of the rights of journalists, and for that matter of any citizen, of the Republic," he added.

Duterte also lambasted the UN during a press conference last week, following the call by international press group Reporters Without Borders for media to boycott him, saying the UN cannot even solve conflicts in war-torn countries.

The long-time mayor of Davao City said he does not care about any of the conventions implemented by the UN.

"Bull*** to them. I am not the president of the community. Yan ang mahirap dito, puro tinatakot ka, there was a convention of this, convention of that, the UN.

"P***** i** kang UN, hindi mo ma-solve solve yang patayan sa Middle East and other, killing people like rejects. [You] do not even lift a finger in Africa, butchering the black people there. Tumahimik nga kayo, pareho rin kayo pala ng Pilipinas," he said.

READ: Duterte blasts UN: You can't even solve conflicts

Earlier this week, two UN special rapporteurs, Cristof Heyns and David Kaye, criticized Duterte for allegedly sending a "permissive signal" that killing journalists is "acceptable in certain circumstances and would not be punished."

"A message of this nature amounts to incitement to violence and killing, in a nation already ranked as the second-deadliest country for journalists," said Heyns, UN Special Rapporteur on summary executions.

"These comments are irresponsible in the extreme, and unbecoming of any leader, let alone someone who is to assume the position of the leader of a country that calls itself democratic," he added.

READ: UN experts urge Duterte: Don't incite violence

Several media groups in the Philippines have also heavily criticized the president-elect for supposedly playing the corruption card.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said "it is one thing to recognize a possible reason for murder; it is a totally different thing to present this as a justification for taking life."

Duterte, who will assume office on June 30, has refused to apologize for his statements, even vowing to "boycott" the press "until the end" of his term.

READ: Duterte blasts 'vultures pretending to be journalists'