President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday said he would not defend himself before "white people," reiterating his refusal to cooperate with the International Criminal Court's planned investigation into his drug war.
Duterte, in a late night address, called the tribunal "bullsh*t" as allegations of extrajudicial killings continue to hound his centerpiece platform, which has claimed the lives of over 6,000 people.
"Itong ICC bullsh*t ito. I will not, why would I defend or face an accusation before white people? You must be crazy," the President said.
Malacañang earlier said Duterte would not cooperate with the attempt of retired ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to open a full investigation into the killings. Bensouda said crimes against humanity could have been committed.
Citing his background as a prosecutor, Duterte said he could defend himself but refuses to do so.
"Justice ako, prosecutor ako of course I can defend myself..." he said. "Wala akong sinabi na you kill Mr. Santos... never said that. But I said I will kill you if you destroy my country."
Duterte also recognized that there were local chiefs killed in his drug war but claimed that it was because they fought back.
"We are not saying we are killing them, we kill them because they fight back," he said.
Families of those killed in Duterte's drug war, and rights groups have welcomed the attempt to investigate the bloody campaign which Malacañang has denounced as unnecessary given that a local inter-agency review panel is still reinvestigating deaths linked to the drug war.