(Eagle News) — Chinese President Xi Jinping has given the assurance he would not allow the ouster of President Rodrigo Duterte.
This is according to Duterte himself, who spoke to the press during send-off ceremonies of around 50 Filipino scientists to the Philippine Rise on Tuesday, May 15.
Duterte did not say when Xi made the statement.
He said, however, that the assurance was “very encouraging.”
“(Xi said) we will not..allow you to be taken out from your office and we will not allow the Philippines to go to the dogs. Siguro kasi freely elected leader naman ako. It could be a very justified statement,” he said.
The President has time and again accused the Liberal Party and the Americans of being behind moves to oust him.
In December 2016, an “Oust Duterte” blueprint was leaked to the Manila Times.
The blueprint was allegedly left by then-US Ambassador Philip Goldberg, whom Duterte lashed out at for making comments about who should be Philippine President at the height of the 2016 presidential elections.
The Manila Times reported that in the blueprint, Goldberg outlined a list of “strategies” to undermine Duterte for his eventual removal.
The blueprint, the newspaper said, gave a timetable of one-and-a-half years.