You must be respectful. “Do not just throw away questions and statements”, Duterte said. “Son of a whore, I will curse you in that forum”, Duterte told a news conference shortly before flying to Laos to attend a summit on Monday.
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After the bilateral meeting with Duterte was called off, the Philippines issued two statements expressing regret for the comments, Reuters reports.
According to NPR, President Duterte has insulted other world leaders with the phrase “son of b***h” in his native language of Tagalog, including Pope Francis, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the US ambassador in Manila. The two leaders had planned to meet, but after Duterte’s comments the White House said the meeting would not happen.
Spokesman Ernesto Abella said that the meeting cancellation was a mutual agreement, and that it would be postponed for a later date.
“They… we’re in agreement that navigation should not just be confined to a particular area-it should be shared as it has always been shared”, he said.
In his Tuesday statement, Duterte thanked Obama for emphasizing “the importance for China to abide by its obligations under worldwide law” at an earlier Group of 20 summit.
First, this is about the drug war, not Duterte’s language. And I had to kill people because I hate drugs. “The PNP (Philippines National Police) continues to investigate situations involving vigilante killings and operational aspects where deaths are reported”.
On Monday, Duterte lashed out at the United States for raising questions about a “drug war” that has killed 2,400 Filipinos. Now, because he cursed out Obama’s mother, he doesn’t have to; instead of apologizing for overseeing executions, he can say sorry for his dirty mouth.
Manila has been aligned with the United States in its dispute with China over the South China Sea, in which Washington blames Beijing for militarizing a vital global trade route and jeopardizing freedom of movement at sea and in the air.
Duterte, who had been expecting Obama to criticize his deadly, extrajudicial crackdown on drug dealers, later said he regretted the personal attack on the president.
Duterte might have picked an especially bad time to insult a U.S. president. Duterte has met regularly with Chinese diplomats, de-emphasized the arbitration ruling on the South China Sea that his predecessor fought to secure, and sent special envoys to meet with Chinese officials.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, “I do not want to quarrel with the most powerful country on the planet”, but immediately returned to his typical combative approach, saying: “Washington has been so liberal about criticising human rights (abuses), human rights and human rights”.
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Duterte also expressed his deep regard and affinity for President Obama and for the enduring partnership between the two nations.
