MANILA: A Philippine senator challenged President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday to take a drug test after he joked about using marijuana during a regional summit in Singapore.
Duterte, whose controversial war on drugs has killed nearly 5,000 suspected drug dealers and users since 2016, said on Monday he used marijuana to stay awake — and then said he was just joking.
Marijuana is illegal in the Philippines and critics said Duterte’s attempt at humor could upset the relatives of those who died in the anti-drugs campaign.
“Now, if he really wants to clear himself, I am calling again on him to take a drug test,” opposition senator Antonio Trillanes said in a statement.
Duterte’s spokesman Salvador Panelo told a news briefing the president would not take up the challenge. “He should be the one taking the test,” he said, referring to Trillanes.
In a speech on Monday, Duterte said he used marijuana “to keep me awake” at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Singapore last month, where he skipped several meetings.
Philippine senator dares Duterte to take drug test after marijuana joke
Philippine senator dares Duterte to take drug test after marijuana joke
- “Now, if he really wants to clear himself, I am calling again on him to take a drug test,” opposition senator Antonio Trillanes said
- Marijuana is illegal in the Philippines and critics said Duterte’s attempt at humor could upset the relatives of those who died in the anti-drugs campaign
Germany’s Merz seeks ‘clear European position’ on tariffs before US trip
- “Customs policy is a matter for the European Union, not for individual member states,” Merz said
- “I will go to Washington with a common European position“
BERLIN: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Saturday he will hold talks with European allies on a joint response to US tariffs, ahead of a visit to Washington to meet President Donald Trump.
“We will have a very clear European position on this, because customs policy is a matter for the European Union, not for individual member states,” Merz told the ARD broadcaster.
“I will be in Washington in just over a week,” he added. “And I will go to Washington with a common European position.”
Trump on Friday imposed an additional 10 percent tariff on imports into the United States after after the Supreme Court had struck down many of his sweeping duties imposed last year.
On Saturday Trump said he was raising the rate to 15 percent.
While noting Trump’s additional 10-percent tariff, Merz said he nevertheless expected German exporters to face fewer duties in the future and saw good news in the Supreme Court’s ruling.
“For me, there is a reassuring element in yesterday’s Supreme Court decision: the separation of powers in the USA still seems to be working,” he said. “That is good news.”
