Philippines' President Rodrigo Duterte has accused a senator heading an inquiry into extra-judicial drug killings, of taking bribes from jailed drug lords. The senator swiftly denying such accusations.

Duterte on Wedesday said he was joking when he threatened to pull his country out of the United Nations, following a UN human rights expert saying that Duterte's government was violating international law by encouraging police to kill drug suspects.

According to official government data, over 1,900 people have been killed in the country's war on drugs since July 1st, a day after Duterte took office.