The awkwardness continued days later when Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte called Obama a “son of a bitch” and warned him not to challenge him in their planned meeting in Laos, leading Obama to call it off.
Advertisement
Duterte and Obama, however, were sat six seats away contrary to an announcement made by Philippine Office of the President earlier which says: “Presidents Duterte and Obama will be seated next to each other, which expectedly, will focus all cameras on them to deliver to the world the encounter of the two”. But the relationship became strained when Obama said that he also wanted to talk to Duterte about the country’s politics, namely the Philippines’ deadly war on drugs that has left 2,400 dead.
Speaking with reporters on Monday, Duterte insisted that Obama had to right to question him about the scores of extrajudicial killings generated by the crackdown in the Philippines, which has been sharply criticized by human rights groups.
He said Obama’s appreciation and praise were conveyed at the Asean-US Summit here today.
“This is my ancestors being killed, so why now we are talking about human rights?”
On his final day in Asia, Obama met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose help Obama is seeking to galvanize further action on climate change, especially among developing countries. “Because lately, before we flew here to Laos, we had a very bad bombing incident…and the president was not able to rest on the weekend which is usually his rest day on Saturday”.
Rodrigo Duterte, the controversial, recently-elected Philippine president facing worldwide criticism for his violent crackdown on drug dealers, made his global debut an unfortunate one this week at a summit for Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN) in Laos.
Charles Jose, spokesman of the Department of Foreign Affairs, told reporters in Laos the two leaders “ironed out their differences”, quoting Presidential Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza. Duterte then failed to show up for the US summit meeting mentioned above.
A day earlier, Mr. Andanar asserted that Mr. Duterte’s debut at an worldwide summit had been a success, despite the controversy that was whipped up by his off-the-cuff remarks.
“We want to partner with the Philippines on the particular issue of narco-traffickers, which is a serious problem”.
When asked if Duterte’s headaches happen often, Duterte spokesman Jose Ruperto Martin Andamar said, “It’s not regular, but when he is exhausted and he is always working”.
Contrary to a widely reported press statement from Duterte aides, he did not get to sit between Obama and Ban during the Asean dinner.
Advertisement
The President also did not show up at the ASEAN-United States Summit. “Medvedev was laughing at things Duterte said”.
