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Associated Press

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte lashed out Sunday at another UN human rights expert for making critical remarks about his supposed role in the expulsion of the chief justice, telling him “to go to hell”.
Duterte dismissed the remarks of Diego Garcia-Sayan and told him not to meddle in domestic problems.
Duterte was replying to a reporter’s question before flying on a visit to South Korea.
“Tell him not to interfere with the affairs of my country. He can go to hell,” Duterte said in a late-night televised news conference.
“He is not a special person and I do not recognise his rapporteur title.”
Garcia-Sayan told reporters in Manila on Thursday that the unprecedented removal of Maria Lourdes Sereno as chief justice after Duterte lambasted her in public is an attack on judicial independence that could put Philippine democracy at risk.
Duterte has reacted with similar public outbursts in the past against other UN rapporteurs who raised alarm and sought an independent investigation into his bloody campaign against illegal drugs, which has left thousands of mostly poor drug suspects dead. Police blamed the deaths on clashes with law enforcers.

Sereno’s expulsion has generated “a climate of intimidation” in the 15-member High Court and other levels of the judiciary, Garcia-Sayan said in an interview with The Associated Press in Manila.
He added that there was no formal UN investigation into Sereno’s removal, but as the UN rapporteur who looks into threats to independence of judges and lawyers worldwide, he had to speak up when problems are reported anywhere in the world.
Insults fly as Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte calls UN rights chief ‘empty-headed’ for saying he needed psychiatric evaluation
He cited his upcoming report on such a threat to the judiciary in Poland.
“For a rapporteur of the UN on independence of justice to keep silent when a chief justice in any country in the world, even in my country, would be dismissed in such way is impossible, and it will be immoral to stay silent,” Garcia-Sayan, a former justice and foreign minister of Peru, said.

He said he sent questions to the Philippine government about the circumstances leading to the May 11 removal of Sereno and expressed hopes that the Duterte administration would reply within 60 days and agree to a dialogue on issues that could threaten the judiciary’s independence.
Sereno, 57, was expelled by an 8-6 vote on a petition filed by government lawyer General Jose Calida, who accused her of failing to file asset disclosures as a state university law professor years ago, a charge she denies.
It pre-empted impeachment proceedings against Sereno that were then underway in Congress.
Sereno has appealed the ruling, citing a constitutional principle that top judiciary officials can only be removed by congressional impeachment.
A majority of the 23-member Senate, including some Duterte allies, has asked the Supreme Court to review its decision, calling it a “dangerous precedent” that infringed on Congress’ power to impeach senior officials.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Garcia-Sayan was misinformed and added that while Duterte has been critical of Sereno for claiming that he plotted against her, the president had no hand in her expulsion.
His dislike of Sereno “is not an attack to the judiciary or an affront to judicial independence,” Roque said.
Additional reporting by Reuters


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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte tells UN expert ‘to go to hell’ in warning against interference in domestic affairs

The outspoken Philippine leader is known for defying international pressure and his diatribes against critics

Ousted Philippine Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno speaks during a forum at the Integrated Bar of the Philippines in Pasig, metropolitan Manila, Philippines on Thursday, May 17, 2018. The Philippine Supreme Court recently ousted its chief justice, a critic of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, in an unprecedented vote by fellow magistrates that she and hundreds of protesters called unconstitutional and a threat to democracy. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

In this photo taken Thursday, May 31, 2018, Diego Garcia-Sayan, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, gestures during an Associated Press interview in the financial district of Makati city east of Manila, Philippines. Garcia-Sayan, who is in the country for a judicial conference, said the unprecedented expulsion of the Philippine chief justice after the president lambasted her in public is an attack on judicial independence that could imperil the country's democracy. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has told a UN human rights expert who said the country’s judicial independence was under threat to ‘go to hell’, warning against interference in domestic affairs. Photo: AP

Philippines’ top judge Maria Lourdes Sereno ousted after clashing with President Rodrigo Duterte

Protesters display placards in front of the Philippine Supreme Court. Photo: AP

FILE - In this March 9, 2018 file photo, Philippine Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno waves as she arrives for a forum with foreign correspondents based in the country in suburban Quezon city northeast of Manila, Philippines. The embattled Philippine chief justice has returned to office after taking leave two months ago amid efforts by President Rodrigo Duterte's administration to oust her from the Supreme Court. Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno's spokesman Jojo Lacanilao told The Associated Press that she resumed work Wednesday, May 9, 2018, at the Supreme Court, defying calls from Duterte's allies for her to step down.(AP Photo/Bullit Marquez, File)

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

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

This picture taken on August 30, 2017 in Geneva shows United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein speaking during a press conference at the UN Offices in Geneva. Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, a harsh critic of US President Donald Trump, will step down next year, saying he will not seek another mandate "in the current geo-political context," according to an email sent to staff which was seen by AFP on December 20, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Fabrice COFFRINI [29MARCH2018 FEATURES]

Philippines President Duterte slams European Union as ‘stupid’, refuses summit invite after criticism of bloody drug war

President Rodrigo Duterte has angrily turned down an invitation to an Asia-Europe summit in Brussels as he again lashed out at the EU and accused the bloc of insulting him over his deadly war on drugs. Photo: AP

(FILES) This file photo taken on October 3, 2017 shows Nanette Castillo grieving over the dead body of her son Aldrin, an alleged drug user killed by unidentified assailants, in Manila. Five narcotics suspects have been killed in the Philippines, police said on January 11, 2018 as police have resumed a drug war that has drawn warnings that President Rodrigo Duterte may be overseeing a crime against humanity. / AFP PHOTO / NOEL CELIS

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The outspoken Philippine leader is known for defying international pressure and his diatribes against critics


The outspoken Philippine leader is known for defying international pressure and his diatribes against critics.


The Philippines

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte tells UN expert ‘to go to hell’ in warning against interference in domestic affairs

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The outspoken Philippine leader is known for defying international pressure and his diatribes against critics

The outspoken Philippine leader is known for defying international pressure and his diatribes against critics