Insults fly as Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte calls UN rights chief ‘empty-headed’ for saying he needed psychiatric evaluation

The Philippine leader said he had been advised to refrain from commenting on remarks by Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, but he wanted to ‘seek revenge’

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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has launched curse-laden tirades on world leaders, including former US president Barack Obama and Pope Francis, as well as critics of his anti-crime crackdown. File photo: Reuters

Published: 2:16pm, 4 Apr 2018Updated: 9:26pm, 4 Apr 2018

President Rodrigo Duterte has launched a foul-mouthed attack on the UN human rights chief, calling him “empty-headed” in a row over international criticism of the Philippine leader’s deadly drug war.

Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, had last month said Duterte needed “psychiatric evaluation” and that his verbal attacks on a United Nations rapporteur who condemned his anti-drug crackdown could not go unanswered.

“Hey son of a whore, you commissioner, I need to go to a psychiatrist?” asked Duterte in a speech late Tuesday.

“The psychiatrist told me: ‘You are OK, mayor. You are just fond of cursing,’” Duterte said, referring to his former title.

The Philippine leader added he had been advised to refrain from commenting on the remarks of Zeid, a Jordanian prince, but he wanted to “seek revenge”.

“Look, you have a big-head but it’s empty. There is no grey matter between your ears. It’s hollow. It’s empty. It cannot even sustain a nutrient for your hair to grow because his hair here is gone,” Duterte said as he touched his head.