President Rodrigo Duterte said the Philippines is ready to accept Rohingya refugees from the troubled Rakhine province of Myanmar.

In a speech in an agriculture event in Malacanang on Thursday, Duterte said what has been happening to Rohingya people was "genocide."

"They can't even solve (Rohingya). That's really genocide, if I may say so," he said, apparently referring to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Duterte said State Counsellor of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi is his friend.

"But the way, the way it's being presented to the world. The people there (in Rakhine) are really pitiful. Me? We? I'm willing to accept refugees. Rohingyas, yes," he said.

While Duterte acknowledged there is genocide of the Rohingya Muslims, the Philippines voted against a resolution of the UN General Assembly's human rights committee last year urging Myanmar to end its military campaign against them last year. Celerina Monte/DMS