After being called an obscenity by the President of the Philippines, US President Barack Obama cancelled a meeting today with the leader, Rodrigo Duterte.
Duterte had threatened to curse out the US commander in chief if Obama raised the issue of extrajudicial killings by Philippine authorities in a sweeping crackdown on drug trafficking. Speaking to reporters, Duterte, who took office in June, said the Philippines is a "sovereign state and we have long ceased to be a colony," according to AP.
He added that: "I do not have any master except the Filipino people, nobody but nobody. You must be respectful. Do not just throw questions. 'Putang ina' I will swear at you in that forum." That is the Tagalog phrase for "son of a bi*ch" or "son of a wh*re".
Asked to respond during a news conference after the Group of 20 Summit in China, Obama shrugged it off as another in a line of "colourful statements" from Duterte.
"Clearly, he's a colourful guy," Obama said. "What I've instructed my team to do is talk to their Philippine counterparts to find out is this in fact a time where we can have some constructive, productive conversations."
