Trillanes says US intelligence assessment a 'warning shot' for Duterte

MANILA - An opposition senator believes the Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community saying President Rodrigo Duterte is a threat do democracy in Southeast Asia is a "warning shot."

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said the assessment by the US intelligence community is fair given the number of people who died in the administration's war against drugs and the recent actions by the President which shows a "creeping dictatorship."

"If they're sensitive enough, they should look at it as some form of a warning shot that he's nearing that red line because domestically he's pushing boundaries because he's popular enough to do that," he told ANC Wednesday.

President Spokesman Harry Roque, for his part, said the Philippine government is taking the Worldwide Threat Assessment report very seriously.

"This is something we are taking very seriously. It is coming from the intelligence community. It is not even coming from the State Department. It is something that the President will take seriously as well," he said in a separate ANC interview.

The International Criminal Court is proceeding with the preliminary examination of a communication filed by lawyer Jude Sabio, accusing President Duterte of crimes against humanity in connection of the bloody drug war,

According to Trillanes, who has filed additional information on the case, the international tribunal has communicated with him early January that they have enough materials to proceed with the preliminary probe.