God told me to stop cursing, says Duterte

The foul-mouthed Philippine president, who once told Barack Obama to “go to hell,” says he has promised to God he won’t spew expletives again.

President Rodrigo Duterte’s profanities have become a trademark of his persona, especially while threatening to kill drug dealers as part of his war to check illegal contraband that has left thousands dead, ever since he took office in June-end. Duterte made the stunning pledge on his arrival in his hometown of Davao city from Japan late Thursday.

He said while flying back home, he was looking at the sky at a time when everyone was asleep and he heard a voice that said “if you don’t stop epithets, I will bring this plane down now.”  “And I said, ‘Who is this?’ So, of course, ‘it’s God,’” he said.

“So, I promise God to ... not express slang, cuss words and everything. So you guys hear me right always because (a) promise to God is a promise to the Filipino people,” he said.