In a statement released Tuesday, Duterte admitted the “immediate cause” of the postponement of his meeting with Obama was his “strong comments to certain press questions that elicited concern and distress”.
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President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday told members of the media not to hesitate in criticizing him “if I do wrong in my job”.
After the said “insult” has been made, Obama then called off the bilateral talks with the Philippines.
He said he told Obama the slur was not directed at him and that he told him so during a brief meeting before the Asean leaders gala dinner in Vientiane on Wednesday.
Duterte made the remarks upon his arrival in Davao City, after his trips to Laos for the ASEAN summit and a working visit to Indonesia.
Notorious for his tirades and for cursing during interviews and speeches, he later expressed regret for offending Obama.
“If you make me mad, in all honesty, I will eat you alive, raw…”
Duterte’s tactics in fighting drug crime have come under fire, as over 2,000 Filipinos have been killed in the effort so far, according to police figures.
“I apologize, Mr. President, as sometimes the coal deliveries needed for power plants in my country have been delayed due to the hijackings”, Duterte said.
“You must be respectful”.
“Even Ban Ki-moon weighed in”, Duterte said. “Why now we are talking about human rights”, an Indonesian delegate said.
“I am a President of a sovereign state”.
Philippines’ President Rodrigo Duterte, center left, waves with his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo during their visit at Tanah Abang Market on the sidelines of their meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, Sept. 9, 2016.
He said that it was not his intention to offend anybody in that meeting, adding he just wanted “to send message that we have every right to pursue an independent foreign policy without interference”.
“I engaged the leaders of Asean and its dialogue partners in important regional issues that have impact on peace, security, stability and prosperity of the region”, he said.
Mr Obama shrugged off the comments, saying he didn’t take it personally and confirmed he shook Mr Duterte’s hands.
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He also repeated his stand that he is only accountable to the people of the Philippines and will continue his tough stance on crime, despite criticisms on his human rights record over widespread vigilante and extrajudicial killings since he became president.
