PH not pulling out of UN – Palace, DFAThe Philippines is not pulling out its membership from the United Nations (UN) despite the frustrations voiced by President Duterte for its meddling with the government’s campaign against illegal drugs, Malacañang said on Monday. Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella clarified that the President merely stated “the Philippines is a sovereign nation and should not be meddled with.”“We are not decoupling,” Abella said in a Palace news conference. “He was really just reiterating national sovereignty and the fact that he did not welcome interventions or what he would consider meddling,” he said. He has taken umbrage of the fact that the United Nations are making public statements without making formal representations,” he added. Former Philippine ambassador to the United Nations Lauro Baja, on the other hand, said the implications of President Duterte’s threat to withdraw the country’s membership in the United Nations (UN) is too serious even to think or consider.

Source: Manila Bulletin August 22, 2016 14:06 UTC