On Thursday, President Rodrigo Duterte allayed fears of Filipinos regarding his recent pronouncements about building up better ties with China and Russia, saying those countries were no longer communist.
In a news conference in Davao City shortly after he arrived from his three-day official visit to Japan, Duterte was asked about Russian Ambassador Igor Khovaev's admission that the country had a negative impression among Filipinos.
"Hoy! Hoy! Wala nang komunista. That's an ideology that have long gone," Duterte said.
But Duterte noted that neither China nor Russia deserved the scorn of Filipino critics who may be misinformed.
"I do not have to answer this simpleton. Wala nang komunista ngayon. The Communist Party is really for the control, para hindi sasabog. There are billions of them," he said.
"Pero kung sabihin mo, sa commune. Those were the propaganda days of the Americans during the Cold War. I tell you, hindi ganung kalupit ang mga tao doon, kasi kababayan nila," he added.
The Cold War was a time when a hostile political and military hostilities existed between United States and the former Soviet republic, including Russia.
Russia, Duterte said, had pledged to help the country.
"Komunista? Ang ganda, ang yaman doon. Lahat doon... ang Lexus taxi lang doon. Lahat doon naka sports (car)," he said about his recent trip to Beijing.
His recent state visit to China, meanwhile, resulted to billions of dollars in pledges.
His recent state visit to China, meanwhile, resulted to billions of dollars in pledges.