BELGIAN Princess Astrid may cancel her visit to the Philippines next year as a result of President Rodrigo Duterte’s recent statement that he would be “happy to slaughter” three-million drug addicts, a newspaper reported Monday.
The decision was made after Brussels State Secretary for External Trade Cecile Jodogne called for an emergency meeting to discuss the royal visit, the newspaper La Libre Belgique reported.
“It will be difficult to ensure the visit goes ahead,” the paper quoted Jodogne as saying.
Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said they are still verifying the report with the Belgian government.
In his speech on Friday morning in Davao, Duterte likened his war on drugs to Hitler’s efforts to exterminate the Jews, and said he was “happy to slaughter” three-million drug addicts.
Duterte also lambasted Western critics of his unprecedented law-and-order crackdown, which left more than 3,000 people dead in three months and raised concerns about a breakdown in the rule of law.
“Hitler massacred three-million Jews. Now there are three-million drug addicts [in the Philippines]. I’d be happy to slaughter them,” Duterte told reporters in his home city of Davao shortly after returning from Vietnam.
“At least if Germany had Hitler, the Philippines would have,” he said, then paused. “But you know, my victims, I would like to be [sic] all criminals to finish the problem of my country and save the next generation from perdition.”
In Brussels, shortly after Duterte’s remark, Jodogne called for an emergency meeting to discuss “whether the royal visit to the Philippines should still go ahead.”
“I will ask for the visit to be moved to a different country,” she said.
She also said that if federal authorities and the two other regions failed to agree, Brussels will not send a political representatives in lieu of Princess Astrid.
“I’m not saying no-one should go to the Philippines at all, but the problem right now is timing,” she admitted.
Princess Astrid was scheduled to visit the Philippines to learn about the peace process between the government and the communist rebels, an effort that the European Union supports.
Earlier, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza said Princess Astrid will head a high-level economic team for investments.