Relations saw a spectacular setback this week when Mr. Duterte branded Obama a “son of a bitch” after being told the USA president planned to raise concerns about his war on drugs.
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Duterte previously had a rocky relationship with the media, whom he accused of “slanting” his statements to crucify him.
“I think it seems to be just a habit, a way of speaking for him”, Obama said.
Amid the controversy surrounding Duterte’s obscene remarks, Duterte was received well among the leaders upon landing in Laos.
Obama said during the heat of an election “outrageous becomes normalized and people start thinking we should begin grading on a curve”.
Duterte, also a lawyer, made comments about a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry calling his business partner a “gay ambassador”, and saying that the only way to get financial assistance from the U.S.is to insult the country.
Asked about Duterte’s profanity against him, Obama said, “I do not take these comments personally, because… this is a phrase he has used repeatedly, including directed at the pope and others”. “Check it out, ‘” reports Inquirer.net.
Mr. Duterte has called Pope Francis a “son of a bitch” for causing traffic jams in Manila during his visit to the Philippines past year. The PH leader simply responded with “OK”.
The two leaders were to meet again Thursday at a joint meeting between Southeast Asian leaders, Obama, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but Duterte did not attend.
The outspoken Filipino politician is facing worldwide fire for his campaign against drugs which has so far resulted in the deaths of almost 2,000 suspected drug pushers, some at the hands of local Filipino forces and others allegedly by vigilante groups and individuals. He perfectly had a strike back. Duterte then failed to show up for the USA summit meeting mentioned above. The photograph showed about 200 dead Filipino Moros stacked in a common pit, with an American soldier holding a rifle while stepping on the breasts of a naked Moro woman. “We will miss an opportunity, and I don’t want that to happen”. This campaign had taken the lives of about a thousand Filipino Moros.
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He said he told the leaders, “This is human rights, what do you intend to do?” and “Human rights violations whether committed by Moses or Abraham, is still violation of human rights”. “Do not just throw questions”, Duterte said.
