Impeach me, I'll jail you - Philippines' Duterte dares foes to test him

(Attention to strong language in paragraphs 5,6)
MANILA, June 28 (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo
Duterte has threatened opponents with prison if they try to
impeach him, the latest in what a top U.N. official and an Asian
lawmakers' group this week called a pattern of persecution and
assaults on free speech.
Duterte vented his anger late on Thursday amid intense media
scrutiny and accusations that he is siding with China over a
June 9 sinking of a Filipino fishing boat by a Chinese vessel,
which happened inside Manila's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
The maverick leader has echoed Beijing's line that it was an
accident, not an intentional ramming, and shrugged off the
presence of Chinese fishermen inside the Philippine EEZ, saying
he would allow it out of friendship.
Some high-profile critics, among them a top judge and a
former foreign minister, have called that a breach of the
constitution, or worthy of his impeachment.
"Me? Will be impeached? I will jail them all," Duterte told
reporters. "Try to do it and I will do it. Son of a bitch."
He added: "I am challenging you to do it. You really want to
force my hand into it? Okay. You sons of bitches, do it. Yes.
File it."
A report on Tuesday by the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human
Rights chided the Duterte administration for what it said were
threats and aggressive rhetoric and trumped-up criminal charges
against opponents that amounted to "deliberate effort to muzzle
critics and weaken checks and balances."
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on
Monday said there was a "very real risk of violence" for
Filipinos who speak out, noting threats were publicly made by
state officials.
While Duterte's popularity and mandate have been bolstered
by a recent midterm election, the sinking incident has put the
domestic spotlight on cracks that are appearing in his
much-trumpeted foreign policy of non-confrontation with China in
return for economic incentives.
Some analysts say China's offers of high-interest
infrastructure loans and promises of massive investments have
won Duterte's acquiescence, but with much of that yet to
materialise and China further militarising its artificial
islands and strengthening its fishing militia, Duterte risks
looking like he is being duped.
Asked on Friday about threats to jail opponents,
presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said Duterte was merely
upset that people could not see he had the country's interests
at heart.
"He cannot understand why people are against his policy,"
Panelo told reporters.