After middle-finger salute, Philippines' Duterte asks EU 'Why insult me '

Duterte had hit out at the EU, saying 'Fu** you' and raised a fist with the middle finger thrust out in an obscene gesture.

Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte demanded on Wednesday the European Union show him respect worthy of a president, despite giving the bloc a one-finger gesture and a vulgar four-letter rebuke after its legislators expressed concern about his drug war.

Angered by last week's call by the European parliament for restraint in his deadly 11-week crackdown, the former mayor of the southern city of Davao took aim for a second day at the European Union and said he did not deserve insults.

-"Even the EU is scolding me,-" Duterte said in a televised speech at an army base.

-"When I was mayor, that was OK but it is different now because I am the president. Why would you insult me -"

He added: -"It is as if I am your subordinate.-"

After lambasting the United Nations, the United States and its president and Nobel laureate, Barack Obama, the EU is the latest high-profile recipient of a Duterte dressing-down that has become part of his appeal to millions of Filipinos.

Duterte swept to power in a May election promising an assault on the drugs trade and at least 3,800 people have been killed since he took office on June 30.

The European parliament appeared to strike a nerve when it issued a statement calling on his government to -"put an end to the current wave of extrajudicial executions and killings-", while expressing concern about -"extraordinarily high numbers killed during police operations-".

During a speech on Tuesday, Duterte hit out at the EU, saying -"Fuck you-" and raising a fist with the middle finger thrust out in an obscene gesture.

The European Union delegation in Manila issued a diplomatically worded statement from its ambassador but later retracted it, for reasons not explained, replacing it with another, saying -"We don't comment on comments-".

-"The European Union and the Philippines enjoy good relations, and we will continue to discuss this issue, among many others, in our bilateral contacts,-" it said in the revised statement.

Duterte said on Sunday he may have to extend the campaign against drugs into next year, having understated the depth of the problem.