Duterte: Trump wishes Philippines success in drug war

MANILA, Philippines - United States (US) President-elect Donald Trump wants the Philippine government to succeed in its drive against drugs, said President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday night. 

"The President-elect Trump wishes to extend his warmest regards to the Filipino people. And in just a few minutes, we were talking a lot of things. He was quite sensitive also to our worry about drugs," said Duterte. 

The two leaders had a "very engaging, animated" phone conversation as described by Special Assistant to the President Christopher "Bong" Go on Facebook.

Duterte called Trump at around 10:30 p.m. (Philippine time) on Friday. The phone conversation lasted for almost 10 minutes. 

During the Friday dialogue, Trump said he understands the Philippines' anti-drug campaign as a sovereign nation and that the country is "doing it the right way."

"He (Trump) understood the way we are handling it and said that there's nothing wrong in protecting a country," said Duterte.

"It was a bit encouraging in the sense that I supposed that what he really wanted to say was that we would be the last to interfere in the affairs of your own country," the president added.

Duterte’s war on drugs has been roundly criticized internationally — including by the US, United Nations, European Union and various human rights groups. 

Since the president took office in July, more than 4,000 drug offenders were reported killed in the government’s “Double Barrel” drive—both from legitimate police operations and vigilante-style or unexplained killings.

Warm ties with long-time ally

The 71-year-old chief executive assured Trump of warm ties with its long-time ally and is confident that the latter will be a good US president.  

Duterte even invited Trump to visit the Philippines during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in 2017.

"He (Trump) said that he will try his best to be here (Philippines). He wants to attend the summit and that would be great for our country," said Duterte.

It will be the third time the Philippines will be hosting the regional meet.

The US president also invited Duterte to visit him in the White House next year, saying that he wants to be notified of Duterte's presence in the US. 

Both leaders are known for their penchant for controversial remarks.

Outgoing Barack Obama expressed optimism that the relationship between the US and the Philippines would improve under his successor Trump. 

Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. said Obama had told him during the APEC meet in Peru that Duterte and Trump appear to have “the same kind of temperament.”