Duterte says tirades directed towards “inutile” EU Parliament

April 2, 2017

President Rodrigo Duterte clarified on Sunday that his tirades against the European Union were directed towards the "inutile" Parliament and not to the Commission.

"The EU Parliament, the politicians, they are the inutile, they should be castrated," Duterte told reporters in Cagayan de Oro City when asked on the statement of EU Ambassador to the Philippines Franz Jessen that EU was not the one imposing to the Philippines to follow the United Nations conventions that it ratified.

Jessen has said that the Philippines signed 27 UN conventions, including human rights and good governance. Thus, he said EU was simply saying that the Philippines must respect its international commitments.

"But the EU Commission, it has not been saying anything," Duterte said.

The President, without qualifying his statements, previously castigated EU after its Parliament issued a resolution calling the Philippine government to stop extrajudicial killings, release "political prisoner" opposition Senator Leila de Lima, and not to re-impose death penalty. Celerina Monte/DMS