PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte does not have “authoritarian tendencies” and “adheres to fundamental human rights”, his spokesman said in an interview with CNN’s Christian Amanpour on Wednesday, local time. “President Duterte is schooled in the law, including the American legal system, which has also inspired our Bill of Rights and the Constitution. The President has a very good grasp of American Constitution and values that adheres to [the law of]fundamental human rights,” Roque said. Duterte has drawn flak from the international community, including the United States, in connection with about 12,500 people who died under the Duterte administration’s war on drugs. “It was never the intention of President Duterte to conduct war on drugs that would violate the Constitution and fundamental human rights,” Roque, a former human rights lawyer, added.

Source: Manila Times November 08, 2017 09:10 UTC