JAKARTA ― Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte told Barack Obama he never called him a “son of a bitch”, he said on Friday, but he maintained a defiant stance on his war on drugs, saying United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon was a fool for bringing up human rights. Duterte has encouraged citizens in Philippines to bring justice to drug peddlers in the nation as a part of his crackdown on suspected drug dealers and users.
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Duterte said he had clarified his stance to Obama when they met in Laos.
Tensions stemming from a public outburst by Duterte before the summit overshadowed a gathering where Obama sought to focus on his military and economic rebalance to Asia and give reassurances on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, which faces a hard ratification process in Congress. Do not just throw away questions and statements.
Obama says the leaders also are united in expressing grave concerns about recent ballistic missile launches by North Korea. “[Son of a bitch, I’ll curse you infront of everybody.] Tell that to everybody”, Duterte said.
Earlier this week Duterte said it would be “rude” for the president to discuss human rights abuses at the meeting, with Obama telling reporters their partnership was more concerned with suppressing the country’s battle on drugs.
Duterte spoke after Obama had delivered a speech that referred to human rights.
However, Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. was quoted as saying that “there was no time for Obama to shake Duterte’s hands as the Philippine President had to leave the conference for his bilateral talks with Russian Federation”.
On a visit to Indonesia, Mr Duterte told the Filipino community there that he told Mr Obama: “President Obama, I’m President Duterte”.
Duterte’s remarks prompted Obama to cancel a scheduled meeting with Duterte last Thursday on the sidelines of the Laos meetings.
Alan Cayetano, who was Duterte’s vice-presidential running mate in this year’s election, described the atmosphere as “warm and cordial”, while a White House official said “the exchange consisted of pleasantries between the two”.
Duterte previously had a rocky relationship with the media, whom he accused of “slanting” his statements to crucify him.
“I do not have any master except the Filipino people, nobody but nobody”.
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As he prepared to leave Laos, Obama also said he would continue to work to fulfill his campaign promise to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center, which he called a recruitment tool for terrorism.
