Now, Filipino Prez calls UN chief a ‘fool’, says did not intend to insult Obama

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday insisted that he had not intended to insult US leader Barack Obama, but immediately trained guns on another global figure by labelling UN chief Ban Ki-moon a “fool”.

Duterte sparked a storm on the eve of an Asian summit this week by labelling Obama a “son of a whore”, prompting the US president to cancel a planned meeting. However, the leaders later met briefly at the gathering in Laos, after Duterte expressed regret.

But acid-tongued Duterte on Friday said the Philippine expression “putangina” should not be taken at face value, and it was “an ordinary expression (used) by everyone”. “It’s son of a bitch or son of a gun. It’s not son of a whore,” he said during a visit to Jakarta. He insisted that his remarks were not directed at Obama, but at the US state department, which has raised concerns over potential human rights violations in Duterte’s anti-crime campaign that has left around 3,000 dead in just over two months. “I got really angry about these threats over this human rights issue. This is the fault of the crazy people in the state department,” he said. Duterte said he had clarified his stance to Obama when they met in Laos.

Duterte has become famous for his profane outbursts, and has branded Pope Francis and the US ambassador to Manila “sons of whores”.