'You Must Be Kidding': Duterte Won't Allow US to Treat Philippines as Colony

Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte said he wanted his country to be treated with dignity.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte said he would not allow the United States to treat his country as a colony.

"It’s the way how they handle it. You treat me as if I am your colony still? You must be kidding. Why would I allow it, why would I allow you to treat me as if I am your colonial governor? We are independent country. We will survive, we will endure. We can go hungry, but this time, I want my country treated with dignity," he said in an interview with Russian media.

Duterte previously made some harsh statements regarding the United States. In October, Duterte stated that it was "time to say goodbye" to the United States’ use of Philippine land for military bases, secured by a deal signed by Duterte’s predecessor. In November, Duterte said that Manila intended to cooperate with Moscow and Beijing rather than with Washington, but did not rule out cooperation with then-US President-elect Donald Trump.

In late April, Trump and Duterte held a phone talk, in which the US President invited his counterpart to visit Washington. Duterte, however, stated later that he could not make any "definite promise" as to whether he would accept the invitation or not.