Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday voiced remorse for calling President Obama a “son of a b—h” the day before.
Duterte told CNN in a statement through his spokesman he regretted that his remarks “came across as a personal attack on the U.S. president.”
{mosads}“We look forward to ironing out differences arising out of national priorities and perceptions,” the spokesman’s statement said.
Duterte on Monday vowed that he would curse at Obama should the American leader question his handling of the Philippines’s war on drugs, which has drawn international concern with thousands reported dead.
“Who does he think he is?” Duterte asked. “I am no American puppet. I am the president of a sovereign country and I am not answerable to anyone except the Filipino people. Son of a b—h, I will swear at you.”
The comments came after a journalist asked Duterte how he would explain the Philippines’s use of extrajudicial killings. More than 2,000 suspected drug sellers and users have been killed since Duterte took office in late June and vowed to take a hard-line stance on narcotics.
Obama on Monday canceled a meeting with Duterte scheduled for the following day after learning of his Filipino counterpart’s remarks.
“Fighting narco-trafficking is tough,” Obama said in China before departing for Laos. “But we will always assert the need to have due process and to engage that fight against drugs in a way that’s consistent with basic international norms.
“And so, undoubtedly, if and when we have a meeting, this is something that’s going to be brought up, and my expectation is, my hope is, is that it could be dealt with constructively.”
Obama now plans on meeting South Korean leader Park Geun-hye instead of Duterte Tuesday afternoon.