THE public should get used to President Rodrigo Duterte's language, which is usually peppered with expletives when he talks about his critics, incoming Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said on Thursday.
Roque said Duterte was merely taking potshots at his detractors, especially those who come from the international community like the European Union (EU), United Nations (UN), and United States (US), to stop them from meddling in the Philippines' domestic issues.
"When the President complains about certain acts of sovereign states, he does so with a reason. In the case of the European Union, he felt that there was a violation of the UN Charter, specifically the principle of non-interference because the drug war is a sovereign undertaking," he told a press conference.
"So it's only understandable that the President expressed displeasure [when] he feels that this tenet of non-interference is being violated by other countries," he added.
Duterte, in his impromptu speeches, has launched series of tirades against the EU, UN, and US over their supposed interference in his bloody crackdown on illegal drugs.
Recently, the President also lambasted the EU for allegedly suggesting to delist the Philippines as a member-state of the UN Human Right Commission (UNHRC). The European bloc, however, denied that it lobbied for the Philippines' removal in the UNHRC.
Duterte's statement resulted in the Philippines' refusal to accept EU's future grants "with conditions."
Roque said the public should understand the President's style of addressing criticisms from foreign entities.
"I think people should get used to the President by now and they must be used to the President after almost a year and a half," he said. (SunStar Philippines)