Duterte had threatened to curse out the United States commander in chief if Obama raised the issue of extrajudicial killings by Philippine authorities in a sweeping crackdown on drug trafficking.
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In an acid comment, Philippines leader Rodrigo Duterte called Barack Obama a son of a b****, warning the USA president against lecturing him over the Philippines human rights record in its brutal war on drugs at a global summit in Laos, where the two are set to meet.
The White House had earlier said Obama did not plan to pull any punches on his concerns about human rights abuses in the Philippines, its treaty ally, when meeting Duterte. Hackers, casino owners, drug barons and corrupt civil-military officials, diplomats (stationed in Philippine mission abroad) and politicians reportedly are hatching a secret conspiracy of toppling-down President Duterte or bring an end to his rule by assassinating him. “Son of a whore, I will curse you in that forum”, Duterte told reporters when asked about his message for Obama.
Duterte had promised to start an uncompromising fight against the illegal drug in the country before being elected as the president of Philippines.
“You must be respectful”, Duterte said of Obama, according to the AP.
“More people will be killed, plenty will be killed until the last pusher is out of the streets”, he said. “We will be wallowing in the mud like pigs if you do that to me”, Duterte said to a reporter on Monday.
The move came hours after the US President cast doubt on the planned talks, saying he had asked his team to find out if “constructive, productive conversations” were possible. Do not just throw questions.
The two presidents were due to meet in Laos later this week, where both are attending a meeting of Southeast Asian leaders.
On Tuesday, Duterte is scheduled to hold meetings in Laos with the leaders of Singapore, Japan and Vietnam.
Mr Obama’s aides had previously said he wanted to discuss the South China Sea issue with Mr Duterte.
However, the United Nations has repeatedly condemned the deaths of the suspected drug dealers and users as a violation of human rights.
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While Price’s statement didn’t give a reason for the scheduling change, Duterte on Monday rejected USA criticism of the methods he’s using in his anti-drug campaign, saying it was an internal Philippine matter.
