President Rodrigo Roa Duterte participates in the ASEAN Summit held in Vientiane, Laos on September 6. KING RODRIGUEZ/PPD
President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday said the US Special Forces must leave Mindanao, saying their presence would only worsen the situation in the strife-torn region.
āThe US Special Forces, they have to go. They have to (leave) Mindanao. There are many (Americans) there,ā the President said in a speech at the oath-taking ceremony of the latest batch of his appointees in MalacaƱang.
READ: Duterte brings ānew normalā to PH-US ties
āI just could not say it (at the Asean summit in Laos) because I donāt want a rift with America. The situation there (in Mindanao) will be more volatile. If they are seen there, they will really be killed,ā he added.
READ: Duterte: Iām no fan of US
Duterte, who became the buzz at the meeting of the 10-member regional bloc in Vientiane last week for his verbal tirades against US President Barack Obama, also showed photographs of the massacre of the Moro people during the US occupation./rga