President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday night dismissed talk that China influenced the 2016 elections which saw his rise to power.
Duterte threatened to go after former Foreign Affairs Sec. Albert del Rosario who earlier said a "most reliable international entity" had informed him that senior Chinese officials were "bragging that they had been able to influence the 2016 Philippine elections so that Duterte would be president."
"Daldal ka nang daldal diyan. Anong China-China magtulong sa akin? G*** ka, saan mo nakuha 'yan? Sixteen --- 16 million makuha mo ng tulong sa ibang bayan? Sixteen million mabili mo? Ang aking majority is six million over. Lahat 16 million. Sixteen million plus voted. Six million of that was my majority over your friend," Duterte said in his weekly public address.
The President threatened to sue Del Rosario for treason, claiming that the former top diplomat gave up control of the Scarborough Shoal to China under the administration of late President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III.
"Where can I meet you? Saan ka ba nagkakape-kape? Ibuhos ko 'yang kape sa mukha mo, maniwala ka," Duterte said.
Instead of touting Manila's victory against Beijing before a UN-backed arbitration court, Duterte sought to rebuild political and economic ties with China. Aquino and Del Rosario initiated the case but the verdict was handed down barely a month after the transfer of power between the two leaders.
