MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Antonio Trillanes, a fierce critic of the Duterte administration, sided with United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein who suggested that the president must seek psychiatric evaluation.
Trillanes claimed Duterte's "murderous and erratic ways" as well as his "crass, twisted, and perverted" statements would be a reflection of a "deeply sick mind."
"It is not a normal way of thinking especially for a Filipino," Trillanes said in a statement on Sunday.
"So, for the sake of the safety and well-being of the entire Filipino nation whose lives are subjected to his power, I call on Duterte to prove that he has a sound mental health by going through a psychiatric evaluation," he added.
But Trillanes' position is contrary to that of his Senate colleague Sen. Panfilo Lacson.
Lacson said the Philippines is in the right if it lodges a formal protest over a remark of the United Nations' senior official.
"In the protocol being implemented, Philippines can file a complaint or call-out the statement made before the UN Human Rights Council," Lacson said in Filipino over a radio interview with dzBB.
Insult versus insult
Last Friday, Zeid said Duterte "needs to submit himself to some sort of psychiatric evaluation" after the president placed the UN special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples Victoria Tauli-Corpuz on the list of alleged communists, that he wants declared as terrorists. Tauli-Corpuz is a Filipino citizen.
Lacson considered Zeid’s statement as "inappropriate" and "uncalled for." He suggested that the UN official should draw the line with his statements
"Coming from a high official of the United Nations, it seems uncalled for, it should have not come from him. Doesn’t he have a high level of education, demeanor, and all?" Lacson said.
The senator cited that almost 16 million voted for Duterte and practiced democracy. He noted how it is an insult for a foreign official to comment like that against the president.
President Rodrigo Duterte, on the other hand, has himself hurled insults at the United Nations, which has been critical of his war on drugs that has killed thousands of suspects including those who are possibly innocent.
He also repeatedly cursed at the UN for being a hypocritical institution and even threatened to remove the Philippines from the organization.