Says, in jest, PH should send a rapporteur to Charlotte

MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte threw yet another jab at US President Barack Obama on Friday, saying he could join United Nations (UN) and European Union (EU) representatives in investigating the Philippines' bloody war on drugs.

Duterte on Thursday invited UN and EU officials to investigate the drug killings in the country, but added that he should also be allowed to engage them in a debate.

“So I would be inviting the CHR (Commission on Human Rights, EU, and [Barack] Obama if he wants to come here, Ban Ki-moon,” Duterte said in a speech before police officials in General Santos City.

Duterte threatened to curse at Obama at an ASEAN Summit meeting earlier this month after US officials criticized his anti-narcotics campaign. This prompted Obama to cancel their planned meeting on the sidelines of a regional summit in Laos.

Duterte has since apologized and clarified that he did not curse Obama.

• READ: Duterte denies calling Obama 'son of a b****,' hits Ban

Obama, in turn, said he did not take Duterte’s language personally, but he added that his Filipino counterpart should fight crime "the right way."

The UN and EU have raised concerns over the country's controversial war on drugs, which Duterte's sees as a violation of Philippine sovereignty.

On Friday, Duterte said the US must first mind its own affairs before looking at the Philippines. He cited the situation in Charlotte, North Carolina, where violence erupted after officers fatally shot a black man.

“Mamaya sa Charlotte na iyan state of emergency na. Bakit? Pinagbabaril ang itim… Sabi ko si Bato (police chief Ronald dela Rosa) mag-prepara ka kung sinong general ipadala mo doon sa Amerika, rapporteur, paimbestigahan mo rin,” he said.

[Charlotte may declare a state of emergency. Why? Because a black man was shot… I told Bato, you prepare to send someone to America, a rapporteur perhaps, to investigate.]