PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte again had some strong words for another United Nations human rights expert who warned that the country’s judicial independence is under threat. In a news conference late Saturday night, Duterte told Diego Garcia-Sayan, UN’s special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, to “go to hell.”“[Sayan] is not a special person. In his statement on Friday, Sayan said the numerous derogatory tirades of Duterte against Sereno are attacks on the judiciary. “The derogatory statements and threats by President Duterte, which have been televised, broadcast on radio and carried by newspapers, constitute a vicious attack on the independence of the judiciary,” he added. In April, Duterte called Sereno “his enemy” after she claimed that the President was behind her predicament.

Source: Manila Times June 03, 2018 16:30 UTC