MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte attended for the first time the Bonifacio Day rites in Caloocan on Saturday, November 30.

Duterte laid a wreath at the Andres Bonifacio Monument in Caloocan for the 156th birth anniversary of the father of the Philippine revolution, something he hasn’t done since 2016, with other schedules prevailing.

Duterte arrived in Caloocan at 5 pm, delivered an off-script speech until 6 pm before he had to cut himself because it was time to leave for the Philippine Arena in Bulacan, where the opening ceremonies of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) are set for 7 pm.

The Bonifacio Day event was set at 4 pm, but the President arrived an hour late.

As usual, Duterte talked about the country’s drug problem, and slammed the critics of his war on drugs including international human rights lawyers. (READ: Duterte on Bonifacio Day: Push for a strong, progressive PH)

The president again said that Vice President Leni Robredo “made an asshole of herself” when she was co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Illegal Drugs (ICAD). Duterte fired Robredo as ICAD co-chair after only 19 days. 

“Ito namang si Leni (this Leni), she made an asshole of herself, the day I appointed her, what did she do? She went to the embassy of the United Nations, then she told us she wanted to talk to the UN, the EU,” Duterte said.

Duterte said Robredo “was not allowed to just talk and talk,” and went on to fire his usual barrage of criticisms against the International Criminal Court (ICC), and the international community in general. – Rappler.com