Philippine leader ‘regrets’ calling Obama ‘son of a whore’

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte expressed regret on Tuesday for a tirade against Barack Obama in which he called the US leader a “son of a whore.”

“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,” a statement released by Duterte said.

The US and Philippine leaders were due to meet later in the day in the Lao capital of Vientiane at a gathering organized by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

But Obama pulled out of the meeting after Duterte’s tirade against him, delivered at a press conference Monday.

The acid-tongued former prosecutor warned he would not be lectured by Obama over concerns about a brutal war on crime 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 when asked about his message for Obama.

Duterte’s statement on Tuesday in Laos struck a much more conciliatory tone, saying both sides would hold face-to-face talks “at a later date.”

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

“We look forward to ironing out differences arising out of national priority perceptions and working in mutually responsible ways for both countries,” it added.