Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has just issued his most stern warning to his opponents. He threatened them with prison if they try to impeach him!
His warnings were spelled amid accusations that he is siding with China over a June 9 sinking of a Filipino fishing boat by a Chinese vessel inside Manila's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Since then, the Philippine leader has echoed Beijing's line that it was an accident, not an intentional ramming, and shrugged off the presence of Chinese fishermen inside the Philippine EEZ, saying he would allow it out of friendship, according to Reuters.
In return, some high-profile critics, among them a top judge and a former foreign minister, have called that a breach of the constitution, or worthy of his impeachment.
"Me? Will be impeached? I will jail them all," Duterte told reporters. "Try to do it and I will do it.”
He added: "I am challenging you to do it. You really want to force my hand into it? Okay.”
A recent report by the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights denounced the Duterte administration for “threats and aggressive rhetoric”.
Also earlier, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said there was a "very real risk of violence" for Filipinos who speak out, noting that threats were publicly made by state officials.
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