President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday said he is open to a public discussion about extrajudicial killings with United Nations special rapporteur Agnes Callamard, despite reports that her visit will not push through because conditions set by the Philippine government ran counter to the international organization's principles.
"I want it discussed in public so she can state her case. Ganun ginawa mo, then I can refute her kasi tatanungin ko lang, 'Where did you get that garbage?' " he said after a visit to wounded soldiers at the Western Mindanao Command military headquarters in Zamboanga City.
Callamard said the conditions set by Malacañang violate the UN's code of conduct and procedures.
Malacañang wants Callamard to agree to a public debate as proposed by Duterte and for her to take an oath before answering questions from government officials and the president.
On Friday, Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay urged Callamard to apologize to the Philippines for her conclusions on alleged extrajudicial killings which have "unfairly damaged the country."
Duterte said he is "open to everything" and that the UN and other countries are "trying to trivialize" the drug problem in the country.
"I'm very open to everything . . . My orders to the police and the military, sumali na kayo is to destroy the apparatus it includes tangible pati tao," he said.
Duterte stressed that he has not ordered the police to act with impunity in his campaign against banned narcotics because law enforcers wouldn't act on illegal orders.
"I'm declaring war because of the number of people, Filipino, kadugo ko na pinasok ng droga," he said.
"If you order an illegal thing to go on, the military or the police might just mount a coup d'etat."
As of December 13, over 2,695 drug suspects have been killed since Duterte won the elections in May, based on monitoring by the ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group.