Manila, Oct 14 (AP) The Philippine president said he hasasked his finance secretary to reject an unspecified Britishfinancial aid package and that he's ready to cut diplomaticties with all European countries critical of his deadly anti-drug crackdown.
President Rodrigo Duterte also threatened in a state TVtalk show late yesterday "to declare a revolutionarygovernment until the end of my term" to allow him to arrestopponents and launch an all-out war against communistguerrillas if they seriously attempt to destabilize hisgovernment.
Duterte's latest outburst against critics came after anindependent poll made public this past week showed that hisapproval rating has dropped to its lowest level since he tookoffice last year, amid an outcry over unabated drug killingsand allegations that he has unexplained wealth.
The Social Weather Stations said its Sept. 23-27nationwide survey showed Duterte's satisfaction ratingdropping by 18 points to 48, a level classified as "good,"compared from its last survey in June, when he got a "verygood" 66-point rating.
Amid renewed criticisms of his anti-drug campaign, whichhas left thousands of mostly poor suspects dead, Duterte hasbarred the national police for the second time from enforcinghis crackdown and designated a small antinarcotics agency tospearhead his crackdown.
The volatile leader has also been incensed by concernsover the drug killings raised by a small group of Europeanparliamentarians and human rights advocates, who recentlyvisited Manila.
"I am prepared to lose all diplomatic relationships withall of the European countries now. ... You're not allowed toenter here now. I will write that letter," Duterte said,adding that the Philippines could drop European imports.
Duterte said his country could survive "as long as I haveChina, Russia and Eastern Europe," along with a bloc ofSoutheast Asian nations that he currently heads.
He said that Philippine Finance Secretary CarlosDominguez III recently informed him of a financial packageBritain wanted to provide, but that he told Dominguez toreject the offer. "Tell them Duterte may use that to buy gunsand ammunition to carry out extrajudicial killings, so keepyour money," Duterte said he told his finance chief.
British officials were not immediately available forcomment.
The 72-year-old president, known for his bombasticspeeches, also warned that he would declare "a revolutionarygovernment" to contain any serious threat by politicalopponents and communist rebels to undermine hisadministration. "I will arrest all of you and we can go to afull-scale war against the Reds," Duterte said. "I'm prepared,that's why I've gotten more soldiers. ... Why did I ask fornew arms?"Duterte has made such bold threats in the past but laterwalked back on his public remarks. He threatened Thursday toexpel EU ambassadors and suggested they could be asked toleave the Philippines in 24 hours, but his spokesman laterclarified that the diplomats would not face expulsion.
He has denied he has a policy condoning unlawful drugkillings. Following public outrage over the shooting death ofa teenage student in August, he has warned police officersthat they would be locked up in jail if they murder drugsuspects.
The president, however, has continued to threaten drugand crime suspects with death and mock human rights advocates.
"The human rights of the criminals end where the survival ofmy country begins. Simple as that," Duterte said. (AP)EMY.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.