Philippines War On Drugs: President Rodrigo Duterte Slams Barack Obama, Says He's 'Protecting Next Generation'

President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines remains steadfast in his controversial war against drugs, promising in a press conference Tuesday morning to protect military and officers who partake in the street killings of suspected traffickers. Duterte, who has encouraged civilians to perform vigilante-style assassinations of criminals, also slammed the United States for its "hypocrisy" in human rights issues around the world, citing the invasion of the Panama canal.

"I am trying to protect the next generation," Duterte said Tuesday.

The Philippines’ war on drugs is linked to at least 5,900 deaths across the country since the president took office in June this year — the majority of those being extrajudicial assassinations. Duterte has called on civilians to take part in an apparent cleansing of the streets, maintaining popularity for repeatedly condemning national crime and vowing to do whatever it takes to eradicate the nation of drug smugglers. The president has even touted his own accounts of killing suspected drug traffickers as the mayor of Davao, the Philippines' third-most populated city, though his spokesperson Ernesto Abella later told reporters not to take his admission literally.

Meanwhile, protestors throughout the Philippines and around the world have slammed Duterte for "steamrolling the rule of law," claiming his purported war on drugs has only made the country more unsafe.

Duterte continued to fight against his opponents Tuesday, instead spotlighting U.S. interference in the Philippines and demanding the White House stay out of its affairs. "I am criticizing the Obama administration for its shortsightedness, and for pure hypocrisy, including human rights," Duterte said.

Most recently, Duterte criticized the United Nations for comments made by High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, who suggested the U.N. perform an investigation into the president’s claims he murdered civilians while in office.

"You do not talk to me like that, you son of a bitch," Duterte said Sunday. "I will burn down the United Nations if you want. I will burn it down if I go to America."

"Duterte is steamrolling the rule of law and its advocates both at home and abroad," Human Rights Watch said in a statement published in August. "He has declared the soaring number of killings of alleged criminal suspects as proof of the 'success' of his anti-drug campaign and urged police to 'seize the momentum'… Other countries, including the United States and European Union members, should make it clear to Duterte that inciting such violence is unacceptable and will reap potentially severe diplomatic and economic costs, beyond the human one."