Obama was scheduled to meet Duterte on Tuesday at a gathering of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Laos. “I am the president of a sovereign country and I am not answerable to anyone except the Filipino people”, Mr Duterte said, adding: “Son of a b****, I will swear at you”.
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But Duterte said Obama must refrain himself from intervening in the affairs of his country, highlighting the sovereignty of the Philippines and its people especially on domestic issues.
“If and when we have a meeting, this is something that is going to be brought up”, Obama said, referring to the Philippines’ controversial method of tackling drug crime since Duterte took office earlier this year.
“You must be respectful”, Duterte said of Obama, according to the AP.
“I always want to make sure if I’m having a meeting that it’s actually productive and we’re getting something done“, Obama told reporters in a press conference following the G20 summit in China.
Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte lashed out Monday over reports by White House officials that President Barack Obama would confront Duterte for his handling of alleged drug dealers. Obama has said he planned to raise the issue in his first meeting with Duterte, but the Philippine leader insisted he was only listening to his own country’s people.
A public break from the Philippines would put Obama in a tough position, given the Southeast Asian nation’s status as a longtime USA ally. As mayor of Davao City, he even admitted he took part in the extrajudicial killings.
The Philippine President was known for his notorious outbursts, including labelling the U.S. ambassador to Manila a “gay son of a whore”, telling the Catholic church “don’t fuck with me”, and accusing the United Nations of issuing “shitting” statements about his anti-drugs policies, according to The Guardian. “Why make an issue about fighting crime?”
He suggested, however, that the meeting was predicated on whether Duterte was willing to have a serious conversation.
“I have seen some of those colorful statements in the past, so clearly he’s a colorful guy”, Obama said.
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Duterte has faced worldwide criticism, including from Washington, over the killings of more than 2,000 suspected drug pushers. Obama says “we have deep commitments” to account for those lost during the war. At least 700 of those deaths reportedly occurred during police operations.
