Putin and I may share a jail cell, Duterte jests

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Russian President Vladimir Putin (right). (FILE PHOTOS)

MANILA, Philippines — “We might share the same cell when the time comes,” President Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday during the campaign rally of the PDP-Laban in Cainta, Rizal, which the party live-streamed on Facebook.

He was referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose troops continue to attack Ukraine, and who, like Duterte, is being accused of rights violations.

“Now, they say I have a case at the International Court of Justice. I will be jailed. Human rights. Putin is bombing the [discontinues though] – me? What’s my sin? I’m killing criminals,” Duterte said in Filipino.

“Putin — women, men, children — flattened. He’s also accused of human rights [violations]. So, we might share the same cell when the time comes,” he added.

In September 2021, the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) pre-trial chamber authorized the start of an investigation into Duterte’s bloody drug war.

However, the ICC Office of the Prosecutor deferred the investigation, granting the Philippines’ request to be allowed to make domestic efforts to probe the alleged crimes against humanity.

According to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, the drug war death toll climbed to 6,235 as of Feb. 28.

Meanwhile, ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan opened an investigation into the alleged war crimes committed by Russia after it invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

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ATM