MANILA, Philippines — "Do not answer. Do not bother."
This was President Rodrigo Duterte's directive to government forces in case representatives of international groups come to the Philippines to probe into the brutal war on illegal drugs.
"I'd like to announce. I will repeat. I announced it before. Back up ko kayo (I have your back). When the human rights (advocates) or any rapporteur come, my order is do not answer. Do not bother," the president said during the National Special Weapon and Tactics Challenge in Davao City.
"Why would we be answering? Who are they? And who are you to interfere in the way I would run my country? You know very well that we are being swallowed by drugs," he added.
The Philippines is a party to international treaties like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. It, as the Commonwealth of the Philippines, is among the founding members of the United Nations.
"Do not answer. You're investigating us, fact-finding? Well sorry. Do not f*** with me," the president of the Philippines said.
Duterte made the comment a month after the International Criminal Court announced that it is conducting a preliminary examination on the spate of killings linked to his war on illegal drugs.
The ICC acted on a complaint by lawyer Jude Sabio, who alleged that Duterte had ordered the killing of 1,400 people in Davao City, where the president served as mayor for more than 20 years. Sabio also claimed that Duterte's drug crackdown has claimed the lives of 7,000 suspected drug offenders.
Duterte has expressed readiness to answer the allegations against him even as he declared that he would not stop the anti-drug campaign until he steps down from office.
The Philippine government has also denied that extrajudicial killings are a policy and has said the ICC does not have jurisdiction over Sabio's complaint as Philippine courts and the justice system still operate. It has also claimed that the issue of alleged human rights violations has been "politicized" by critics.
The president's directive also came days after Iceland Foreign Minister Gudlaugur thor Thordarson urged the Philippines to allow United Nations special rapporteur Agnes Callamard to probe the killings tied to the drug war.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque has said the Duterte administration is open to an investigation but does not trust Callamard because of her supposed bias against the president.
Duterte reiterated that he is ready to protect police officers and soldiers who would face charges over their participation in his war on narcotics.
"I will repeat: Performance connected with your work: If something happened, whether intended or unintended, as long as it was related to your work in government, that's mine," the president said.
Duterte has drawn flak for allegedly encouraging extrajudicial killings but officials maintained that the president does not condone human rights violations and abusive practices.
The trial of two Caloocan police officers accused of murdering two teens last year began earlier this week. Police said one of the boys, 19-year-old Carl Arnaiz, was killed in a shootout but this has been disputed by forensic evidence and by witnesses.