MANILA, Philippines – Another United Nations (UN) special rapporteur drew the ire  of President Rodrigo Duterte for supposedly “meddling” with domestic affairs.

President Rodrigo Duterte early Sunday, June 3, slammed and hurled invectives at UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers Diego García-Sayán for observing that judicial independence in the Philippines was under attack, following the ouster of chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

Duterte was asked to comment on the UN rapporteur’s observation during a press briefing before he left for a 3-day official visit to South Korea past midnight of Sunday, June 3.

“He is not a special person, and I do not recognize his rapporteur title. Tell him not to interfere with the affairs of my country. He can go to hell,” the President said.

“Nakikialam siya diyan (He is interfering), internal problem of the country. He should not meddle with it,” he  added.

Before he left the podium, Duterte said: “Thank you for listening to my outburst again… Putang-inang rapporteur na iyan. Pumunta iyan sa impiyerno (That son of a bitch, he can go to hell).“

During his academic visit to the country on Friday, Garcia-Sayan cited  threats   to judicial independence in the Philippines notably with Sereno’s ouster on May 11 via a quo warranto petition. 

On Sunday, the President also reiterated that he is “not involved” with the ouster of Sereno, and that it was Sereno who “kept on harping” about his supposed involvement.

Duterte had earlier  hurled invectives at other UN officials like special rapporteur on summary executions Agnes Callamard and UN High Commissioner on Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein.

Early in his presidency, he called then UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon a “fool” after the latter expressed concern over his bloody campaign against illegal drugs. – Rappler.com