The United States said on Sunday that it would work with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to address any concerns after he threatened to terminate a pact that allows U.S. troops to visit the Philippines.
Mr. Duterte was enraged after a U.S. government aid agency deferred a vote on a renewal of a major development assistance package for the Philippines over concerns about extrajudicial killings in his war on illegal drugs, which has left thousands dead.
Although no decision on the aid package has been taken, Mr. Duterte on Saturday launched an expletives-laden tirade, telling the U.S. to “prepare to leave the Philippines, prepare for the eventual repeal or the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement.”
Bye-bye America
“You know, tit for tat ... if you can do this, so [can] we. It ain’t a one-way traffic,” Mr. Duterte said, adding tauntingly, “Bye-bye America.”
The U.S. Embassy in Manila said in a statement that Washington would work closely with the Duterte administration to address any concerns it may have. It did not elaborate.
The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, but spokesman Josh Earnest had said previously that the White House would not react publicly each time Mr. Duterte made an offhand remark.
Mr. Duterte (71), who describes himself as a left-wing politician, has made similar threats before and after taking office in June, but he and his officials have walked back on many of his public statements, causing confusion.
‘Americans hypocrites, China the kindest’
While calling Americans “sons of bitches” and “hypocrites,” Mr. Duterte on Saturday praised China as having “the kindest soul of all” for offering, what he said, was significant financial assistance. “So what do I need America for?” he asked.
The Philippines had been slated for another aid package after its previous five-year, $434-million poverty reduction program was successfully completed in May under Mr. Duterte’s predecessor, Benigno Aquino III.
A spokeswoman for the Millennium Challenge Corporation, Laura Allen, said Thursday that it would continue to monitor events in the Philippines before the next board review in March 2017.
Rights concerns
The U.S. decision is among the first signs of how concerns about the rule of law and human rights under Mr. Duterte could entail economic costs.
The U.S. government, along with European Union and United Nations officials, has raised concerns about Mr. Duterte’s crackdown on illegal drugs, which has left more than 2,000 suspected drug users and dealers dead in purported gunbattles with police. More than 3,000 other deaths are being investigated to determine if they were linked to illegal drugs.
Just how many he killed?
At a news conference in his southern hometown of Davao, Mr. Duterte was asked on Saturday how many crime suspects he killed while he was a crime-busting city mayor. The former government prosecutor again gave contrasting replies.
“Maybe one, two three ... I’m saying, maybe my bullets hit them, maybe not, but after the burumbumbumbum, they’re all dead,” Mr. Duterte said.
Replying to another question, he said that he indeed has killed, but did not provide details and tried to justify his act. “When I tell you now that I killed, do not term them as suspects because all of them died while they were fighting government people,” he said.
