President Duterte said yesterday he told US President Barack Obama that he had never called him “son of a whore” or had meant to insult him when he uttered an “ordinary” Filipino expression.
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During a press conference, President Duterte said that he welcomed the trilateral cooperation between Indonesia, Philippine and Malaysia in a bid to ensure the sea security.
The brief meeting took a little sting out of the soured relations caused by Duterte’s intemperate language in referring to Obama earlier this week.
It was also reported that Duterte refused to meet the United Nations secretary-general on the margins of the ASEAN Summit. “[Son of a bitch, I’ll curse you infront of everybody.] Tell that to everybody”, Duterte said.
Philippines ambassador to the United States, Marciano Paynor, said the tiff with the United States was part of a learning curve for Duterte, who needed a chance to make the transition from being a city mayor to a head of state. “And I’m very happy that it happened”.
After the summit, Duterte blamed media for distorting his statement. All of them made their way through the holding room before heading to the banquet hall.
US President Barack Obama urged President Rody Duterte on Thursday to conduct his war on drugs “the right way”, after 3,000 people were killed in the crackdown in just over two months.
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.
“I do not have any master except the Filipino people, nobody but nobody”.
“I’m not a lawyer, I can not argue with you”, Ban reportedly told Panelo, who answered back: “I am just telling you, I just want to assure you that we are following the law”. “Do not just throw questions”, Duterte said. “Putang Ina, I will swear at you at that forum”, he added, using the Tagalog phrase for “son of a b****”.
On Tuesday, Duterte expressed regret over the remarks, but the damage was done.
Duterte said he had clarified his comments to Obama when they met. He said it was a mutually agreed meeting, but that he had no details of what was discussed.
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The Duterte administration has not violated human rights in its ongoing war on illegal drugs.
