Esperon advised Duterte to stop attacking UN Rights Commissioner

MANILA, Philippines — National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. has advised President Duterte to stop attacking United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein because his cousin, Jordan King Abdullah was willing to donate helicopters to the Philippines.

Zeid said last month that Duterte needs to see a psychiatrist after the Philippine leader assailed human rights experts who lambasted his crackdown on narcotics.

Duterte retaliated by ordering security forces to ignore UN rapporteurs who would visit the country to conduct an investigation and by describing Zeid as "empty-headed."

Duterte, who has been hurling tirades at critics of his controversial war on illegal drugs, revealed last Thursday that Esperon had asked him to "keep calm" and to refrain from insulting the UN human rights chief.

"The high commissioner of the human rights said about me needing a psychiatrist, I wanted to criticize the gray matter between his ears. But general Esperon, my national security adviser, said 'Please stop, just keep calm.' 'Why should I allow this?' 'Because the king of Jordan is very kind to us.' 'We're friends. We have the best of relations.' That's why, he said, he promised us two Cobra helicopters," the President said during a gathering of Masons in Davao City.

"We can never buy one even but he is willing to give us two. So you just suffer in humiliation and shut up," he added.

Despite the criticisms, Duterte said he was bent on continuing his anti-drug war, which has left more than 4,000 suspected drug offenders dead. He reiterated that he is ready to kill drug personalities to defend the citizens from the drug menace.

"Is it wrong for a president to kill to save his people?" he said.

Duterte also assailed the European Union for its "misplaced" criticism against his campaign and for allegedly turning a blind eye on victims of drug users.

"I would just like to remind the western countries stop intervening...these idiots especially the European Parliament, they keep on harping on the Philippines about the deaths without a single one complaining about the death of innocents dying and drug lords living in houses in Australia and America at the expense of their fellow men," the President said.

"Stop this business of intervening in the affairs of other countries. I assure you, who in the world would like or relish the killing of his own countrymen?"

Duterte also warned local executives who are into illicit drugs trade.

"I will eat you alive," he said.