QUEZON CITY, Philippines (Eagle News) — Political analyst Ramon Casiple said it is not surprising for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to bring up the issue of extra-judicial killings with President Rodrigo Duterte.
Casiple said that Canada has been expressing its concern on the matter and this may have been a subject of discussion for Filipinos in Canada.
During a press conference, Trudeau revealed that he raised the issue of human rights violations during his bilateral meeting with President Duterte.
“I emphasized the people-to-people ties between Canada and the Philippines and the great connection there but I also mentioned human rights, the rule of law, specifically the extrajudicial killings being an issue Canada is concerned with,” Trudeau said.
Last night, (November 14), President Duterte reacted to Trudeau’s comments.
“When you are a foreigner, you do not know exactly what is happening in this country. You do not even investigate… I said, ‘Why don’t you investigate first and find out the truth?’” Duterte said.
The President then said that he would only explain himself to the Filipino people as he was elected by them and will not allow a foreigner to question his war on drugs.
He then advised those who are questioning him to investigate first and get the side of the government to know what is really happening.
He urged them not to get the documents from the opposition and communists.
“What happened to the right to be heard? I told him, did it not occur to you to wonder why while they are showing extrajudicial killings, they can’t even produce when, what happened, when, and how?” he said.
“My advice to everybody, the ones I cursed publicly: Do not get your documents from the opposition and from the communists, because I said, they are all falsified.”