National WATCH | Duterte accuses 'yellow' forces of using human rights to sow intrigue

InterAksyon.com

The online news portal of TV5

MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday virtually accused forces loyal to his predecessor of fanning "intrigues" against him by blaming him for the killings of nearly 3,000 people in his tough campaign on illegal drugs. He said these "Yellow" people, whom he did not name - but was obviously referring to certain people in the Liberal Party - could this early be laying the groundwork for his impeachment. For this, he said, he was prepared, adding that for his controversial campaign against crime and drugs, "I'm ready to lose my life, my honor and my presidency." He began his remarks after the swearing in of dozens of new government bureaucrats by swinging out again at the United States, calling the American leaders "hypocrites" for criticizing him for human rights violations while infringing on the rights of other people. He then showed his audience some of the photos he had used to shock delegates at the ASEAN-East Asia Summit in Laos last week, to illustrate America's history of violating human rights while assailing other countries' records. He held up photos of American soldiers standing over a pile of bodies in the Bud Dajo massacre in Sulu during the US pacification campaign in Mindanao. He reiterated that he never called Obama a "son of a bitch" but attacked him nonetheless for openly advising him in Laos to fight crime "the right way" and not short-circuit due process. Duterte lamented that Obama, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, "rode" on the human rights issues against him without bothering to get evidence that he had ordered the killings. Duterte and National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa have been saying that many of the killings since he took office July 1 were the result of rivalries between drug syndicates or vigilantes. Just about half of the 3,000 deaths are attributed to official police operations. "Sumakay itong si Obama. Sumakay si Ban Ki Moon. Dito sumakay. Alam mo kung kaninong laro ito? Yellow yan [This Obama and Mr. Ban rode on this human rights issue. You know who's fanning this intrigue and playing this? The yellow forces]." The Liberal Party is associated with the color yellow because the previous president, Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III and the middle-class forces associated with his family's democracy campaign in the 70s and 80s, have taken yellow as their signature color. In the past two weeks, Duterte has publicly excoriated an LP senator, the Senate's Justice committee chair Leila de Lima, for pushing a congressional inquiry into re extra-judicial killings that have marred his anti-drugs campaign. Duterte said Monday he won't back down in case the "yellow" forces are already paving the way for an impeachment case against him. It was an apparent reference to the conspiracy theory that made the rounds during the May 9 election campaign - when it became clear Duterte was headed for a landslide - that the LP will actively work to have Duterte impeached so their vice-presidential candidate, Leni Robredo, will assume the presidency. US special forces out

Meanwhile, Duterte declared at the same Palace occasion Monday that he would order the US special forces out of Mindanao, saying the south would never have peace for as long as the Americans are there. According to Duterte, intervention by the US and its allies has damaged so many countries around the world. "Kaya yung mga [That's why the US] special forces, they have to go. They have to go in Mindanao. Maraming mga puti doon [There are so many white people there], they have to go. I don't want to have a rift with America but they have to go." He added, "for as long as we stay with America we will not have peace." HERE'S JV ARCENA'S VIDEO REPORT:
Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte accuses the Liberal Party of former president Benigno Aquino III and their allies of orchestrating an impeachment complaint against him regarding his anti-drug campaign.