This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Australia, which closed in 2021.

Obama Cancels Meeting With Philippine President Who Swore At Him

'I don’t give a s**t about anybody observing my behavior,' President Rodrigo Duterte said.
This combination image of two photographs taken on September 5, 2016 shows, at left, US President Barack Obama speaking during a press conference following the conclusion of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China, and at right, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte speaking during a press conference in Davao City, the Philippines, prior to his departure for Laos to attend the ASEAN summit. US President Barack Obama on September 5 called a planned meeting with Rodrigo Duterte into question after the Philippine leader launched a foul-mouthed tirade against him. / AFP / Saul LOEB AND MANMAN DEJETO (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB,MANMAN DEJETO/AFP/Getty Images)
SAUL LOEB via Getty Images
This combination image of two photographs taken on September 5, 2016 shows, at left, US President Barack Obama speaking during a press conference following the conclusion of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China, and at right, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte speaking during a press conference in Davao City, the Philippines, prior to his departure for Laos to attend the ASEAN summit. US President Barack Obama on September 5 called a planned meeting with Rodrigo Duterte into question after the Philippine leader launched a foul-mouthed tirade against him. / AFP / Saul LOEB AND MANMAN DEJETO (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB,MANMAN DEJETO/AFP/Getty Images)

President Barack Obama has canceled a scheduled meeting with new Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte after the obscenity-prone leader threatened Monday to make a scene at a regional summit in Laos if Obama challenged him on his country’s policy of summary executions.

“Son of a bitch, I will swear at you,” Duterte warned, according to The Associated Press.

The heated response was prompted by a reporter who asked Duterte how he would explain the extrajudicial killings that have soared in the island country of nearly 100 million people in the two months since he took office.

“I am a president of a sovereign state and we have long ceased to be a colony. I don’t have any master except the Filipino people, nobody but nobody. You must be respectful. Do not just throw away questions. Putang ina, I will swear at you in that forum,” he said, using a Tagalog phrase to insult Obama. It could also be translated as “son of a whore.”

Before calling off the meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Obama initially downplayed the Philippine president’s aggressive words.

“I’ve seen some of those colorful statements in the past. And clearly he’s a colorful guy,” he said Monday.

But Obama also hinted that he would, in fact, question the policy on extrajudicial killings “if and when” it comes to the table at the

Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit this week.

“We recognize the significant burden that the drug trade plays not just in the Philippines but around the world, and fighting narcotrafficking is tough,” Obama told reporters at the G20 Summit. “But we will always assert the need to have due process and to engage in that fight against drugs in a way that’s consistent with basic international norms.”

Since taking office on June 30, Duterte has launched an aggressive but simple campaign against suspected drug dealers and traffickers in his country: “Kill them all.”

In the Philippines, hundreds of dead bodies have turned up on the streets, sometimes with crudely written notes of the person’s alleged crime, Public Radio International reported in August.

Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa disclosed that more than 1,700 people have been killed since July 1, according to Amnesty International.

Duterte since his inauguration has encouraged police “to double your efforts …triple them if need be,” and has applauded the street killings that human rights groups say amount to extrajudicial executions.

Duterte on Monday remained defiant in the face of criticism.

“We will continue and I will continue, and I don’t give a s**t about anybody observing my behavior,” he said.

This article has been updated with news that Obama canceled the meeting.

Close
This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Australia. Certain site features have been disabled. If you have questions or concerns, please check our FAQ or contact support@huffpost.com.