Government to pursue independent foreign policy, says Duterte

MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte said on Saturday that the government will be pursuing an "independent foreign policy."

"In our relations to the world, the Philippines will pursue an independent foreign policy," Duterte said in his arrival speech at the Davao International Airport here.

“We will observe and must insist on the time-honored principle of sovereignty, sovereign equality, non-interference and the commitment of peaceful settlements of dispute that will serve our people and protect the interests of our country," he added.

Duterte arrived in Davao on Saturday after his working visit to Jakarta, Indonesia.

The president made international headlines with his controversial comment on US President Barack Obama, which prompted Washington’s cancellation of a bilateral between the two world leaders.

Duterte later said that he “regretted” the remarks and insisted that the Philippine expression “putang ina” is “an ordinary expression (used) by everyone.”

He also accused the media for supposedly “spinning stories several times over."