Almost exactly two years after making his controversial statements against former United States President Barack Obama, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has asked for his forgiveness.
“I am sorry for uttering those words,” Duterte said yesterday in a speech addressed to the Filipino community in Jerusalem.
You probably recall that in September 2016, Duterte cursed Obama and called him a “son of a bitch” during a press conference for criticizing his controversial drug war that now has killed thousands of people.
Duterte’s foul mouth cost the country bilateral talks with its longtime ally when The White House canceled a scheduled meeting during the ASEAN Summit in Laos following the controversial speech.
This prompted Duterte to say, through his spokesperson, that he regretted what he said. However, he did not actually admit to his fault and claimed that the profanity was aimed at the journalists asking him questions, and not Obama.
A month after that, Duterte also told Obama to “go to hell” in a speech.
Duterte being Duterte, his recent apology did not come without a little finger-pointing.
In the same speech in Jerusalem, he also said that he has forgiven Obama for his criticisms of the narcotics crackdown, GMA News reported.
He also called Obama “cold” and “always at a distance” while, in the same speech, described U.S. President Donald Trump as his “good friend,” Rappler reported.
Guess he just can’t resist making another insult.
Duterte’s Israel trip is historic in that he is the first Philippine president to visit the country. However, according to The Times of Israel, it was met by protest from some Israeli critics who took offense with Duterte saying in 2016 that he would “be happy” to kill millions of drug users and pushers just as Adolf Hitler murdered millions of Jews.
