Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte says most Americans are idiots

US citizen's 'should just shut up', flamboyant leader tells an audience

Philippines' independent rights watchdog says it will investigate Mr Rodrigo's claims of killing people (Reuters)

President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte has declared “for every five Americans, three are idiots".

The flamboyant leader made the comments after receiving international condemnation for his claims that he enjoyed driving around killing people during his term as mayor of Davao City.

“The problem with these white people,” Mr Duterte told an audience in mixed English and Tagalog on Thursday, “these American blockheads, is that for every five Americans, three out of five are idiots, and only two are in their right minds".

“You Americans should just shut up,” he added, according to Philippine TV outlet ABS-CBN.

The US has threatened to halt a major aid package to the country over concerns about extrajudicial killings in the leader’s war on drugs, which has left at least 6,000 dead.

In response, the leader threatened to tear up an agreement that allowed US troops to visit the Philippines.

On Thursday the Philippine independent rights watchdog said it will begin a probe into Mr Rodrigo's claims of personally killing people. It comes after the UN human rights chief called for an official investigation.

Head of the Philippine Commission on Human Rights Jose Gascon said he had formed a team of investigators to look into alleged past killings by Mr Duterte.

And the UN's Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein said the country’s authorities “must demonstrate their commitment to upholding the rule of law and their independence from the executive” by investigating the President.

It was “unthinkable for any functioning judicial system not to launch investigative and judicial proceedings when someone has openly admitted being a killer”, he added.

Philippine justice secretary, Vitaliano Aguirre II, has defended Duterte by saying the President often exaggerates stories of killing drug lords to discourage criminals.