Duterte expresses regret over strong comments

VIENTIANE – Hours after US President Barack Obama cancelled their scheduled meeting, President Duterte expressed regret yesterday that his tirade against the leader of the most powerful nation came across as a personal attack.

The meeting was supposed to take place on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit here.

“While the immediate cause was my strong comments to certain press questions that elicited concern and distress, we also regret it came across as a personal attack on the US president,” Duterte said in a statement read by Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar. He said the meeting was “mutually agreed upon” to be moved to a “later date.”

The 71-year-old former prosecutor and Davao City mayor on Monday threatened to curse Obama to his face if the latter lectured him over concerns about a brutal war on illegal drugs that has claimed more than 2,400 lives in the Philippines.

“You must be respectful. Do not just throw away questions and statements. Son of a whore, I will curse you in that forum,” Duterte told reporters on Monday when asked about his message for Obama.

“We will be wallowing in the mud like pigs if you do that to me,” he addedd.

But the President softened his tone after Washington’s announcement of the cancelation of the bilateral meeting.

“He regrets that his remarks to the press have caused much controversy,” a Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) statement said.

“Both delegations, however, have agreed that in the light of the issues that still need to be worked on, the bilateral meeting between the two nations will be postponed to a later date,” the statement said.

“The President looks forward to ironing out differences arising out of national priorities and perceptions, and working in mutually responsible ways for both countries,” it added.

DFA spokesman Charles Jose said that while the schedules of the two leaders are tight, there might still be a chance for them to meet.

“We’re working for that to happen,” Jose said in a text message from Laos.

In the statement, Duterte stressed the war on drugs and criminality should be won to ensure the people’s rights and liberties are protected and preserved.

“It is imperative that the fight against illegal drugs, terrorism, crimes and poverty must be won in order to preserve the principle and values upon which our democratic way of life is anchored,” he said.

“Our primary intention is to chart an independent foreign policy while promoting closer ties with all nations, especially the US with which we have a longstanding partnership,” Duterte’s statement said.

The DFA said Duterte had “a deep regard and affinity for President Obama and for the enduring partnership between our nations.”

Out of context, again

Duterte’s chief legal counsel Salvador Panelo said the President’s supposed anti-Obama statements were “taken out of context.”

He said the President’s gutter language was merely “hyperbole.”

“Don’t put meaning to that. It’s just his style,” Panelo said.

“He was not even attacking anyone there. He was only emphasizing that we are a sovereign nation and being the head of state we should be given respect,” he added.

Presidential peace adviser Jess Dureza said Duterte was not surprised when the White House called off his bilateral meeting with Obama.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said he believes Duterte is not angry with Obama but with Filipinos who keep on asking for his reaction to the US president’s possibly bringing up the issue on killings.

“The President is sensitive when he is questioned about his activities,” the defense chief said. “We are trying to solve a problem. Why do we appear like villains?”

Despite the diplomatic gaffe, Lorenzana maintained the US remains a major ally of the Philippines.

On Monday, Duterte said the US should not interfere in Philippine affairs as the country is no longer a colony.

“The Philippines is not a vassal state. We have long ceased to be a colony of the United States,” he said.

“I do not respond to anybody but to the people of the Republic of the Philippines. I don’t care about him. Who is he?” he added, referring to Obama.

The tough talking Philippine leader clarified that he is not picking a fight with Obama, whom he called “the most powerful president in the planet.” He said he is merely stressing that he is not beholden to anybody but his constituents.

Again, Duterte reminded the US of the killing of African Americans by law enforcers as well as the massacre of Indians by early settlers. He also claimed the US “has a terrible record of extrajudicial killing.”

“Nobody but nobody should interfere. This is an independent country. Nobody has the right to lecture on me. God, do not do it,” Duterte said.

Former foreign affairs chief Albert del Rosario called the cancellation of the bilateral meeting “unfortunate” and a “missed opportunity” as the US is “our only treaty ally and one of three strategic partners.”

“An invaluable occasion to have our leaders meet for the purpose of discussing how to strengthen our comprehensive areas of cooperation would have been a golden opportunity,” he said.

Former DFA undersecretary Lauro Baja said the meeting would have represented the highest form of diplomacy and highlighted the benefits of the two countries’ special relations.

“The cancellation of the meeting is unfortunate. We missed opportunities when the meeting was canceled but it should not affect the overall relations,” Baja said.

He said the President’s advisers should properly advise him on diplomacy and on the intricacies of international relations. – With Pia Lee Brago