In President Rodrigo Duterte’s press briefing at NAIA Terminal 2 before his departure for Japan, he had uttered, “Go ahead. Pack your bags. We will sacrifice. We will recover, I assure you. We will live and survive. We have gone through the worst of times in this planet.”
This statement is directed towards the Americans once again, in reply to US State Department Assistant Secretary Daniel Russel’s statement that Duterte’s conflicting declarations has caused a “climate of uncertainty” among the US businessmen.
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President Duterte retorts that it was Washington that started the ongoing rift between the two and called the US official “gago or stupid” for requesting him to lessen his anti-US speeches.
Duterte upheld that he would never be submissive to other foreign countries’, particularly the US, interests.
“I am not also a lapdog of any country. Only the Filipinos can treat me as a lapdog. Period. Nothing else,” he adds, “Do not make us dogs. Do not. As if I am a dog with a leash and then you throw bread far away that I cannot reach.”
Meanwhile, before the President’s departure, he had hinted at the possibility that the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the US will be dropped in line with his objective of having an independent foreign policy.
President Duterte says that he looks forward to the time that foreign soldiers do not roam the Philippines anymore, “I do not want to see any military man of any other nation except the Filipino soldiers. That’s what I want. That’s the long and short of it. I want an independent policy wherein I won’t be subservient to anyone.”
Source: (philstar.com)
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