The history behind Philippine

President Duterte’s
Obama insult
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte speaks his mind. He does not back down.

Some believe he took his plain speaking too far this week before leaving the Philippines
for a summit in Laos.

Reporters asked how Duterte intended to answer President Obama’s concerns over the
more than 1,300 drug suspects killed over the past two months in Duterte’s anti-drug
campaign. Using a well-known Tagalog obscenity, the Phillipine president called Obama
a son of a bitch.

The U.S. responded by canceling a previously arranged official meeting between the two
heads of state, although the two men did share an amiable exchange at the summit
following Duterte’s comment.

While many are amused by these theatrics, they raise an important question: Why
would the Philippine president risk alienating an important and generous ally? This is
particularly curious due to the Philippines' recent public spat with China over activities
in the South China Sea – a fight the U.S. could help Duterte maneuver.

Born and raised in the Philippines, I have spent my career in the U.S. studying
and writing about the Southeast Asian country. While President Duterte’s comments
may be a surprise to many, his words are not particularly shocking for Philippine
watchers who understand the colonial history of this island nation.

Pope, president and ambassador

Within the past year, President Duterte has spoken ill of Pope Francis and labeled the
U.S. ambassador Philip Goldberg a “gay son of a whore.” Several weeks ago he
threatened to take the Philippines out of the United Nations. In a seeming change of
mood, he also praised the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea when it
recently sided with the Philippines in its loud public claim against China’s activities in
the South China Sea.

Duterte may not be popular around the world, but he is a superstar at home, enjoying an
unprecedented 91 percent approval rate among Filipinos. It seems he has the pulse of
his nation.

Unfortunately, the global press has focused on Duterte cursing at Obama rather than
what he said just before. He spoke rather eloquently about leading a sovereign nation
and answering only to that nation’s citizens. He noted that he was not a slave and had no
master.

Duterte: ‘I have no master except the Philippine people.’

President Duterte’s ribald comments are rooted in Philippine history. In insulting the
pope, he, in essence, struck at 350 years of Spanish colonial rule. As the famous
Phillipine writer León María Guerrero noted, “The history of Spain in the Philippines
begins and ends with the friar.”

After attacking Obama, Duterte claimed he meant nothing personal against the U.S.
president or his mother. But the reality is that Obama, like the pope, represents a
colonial master. The Philippines was an American colony from 1898 to 1946, and I’d
argue that America was not as benevolent toward Filipinos as some history books claim.

Remembering history
While serving as America’s first Philippine governor general between 1901-1904,
William Howard Taft referred to the Filipinos as “our little brown brothers.” While most
people would be little compared to Taft, it was a patronizing nickname – one of the nicer
ones American officials and civilians used when referring to Filipinos. Dean
Worcester, arguably the most influential American in the Philippines between 1900-
1914, commented that “honesty among Filpinos is a theme for a humorist.”

Still, compared with other 20th-century global colonial experiences, there was
unprecedented courtesy between most Americans and Filipinos. That bond was sealed
in blood during World War II as they fought and died side-by-side.

After gaining post-war independence without the wars that plagued the other Southeast
Asian colonies like Indonesia and Vietnam, the Philippines allowed the U.S. to maintain
major naval and air force bases on the island of Luzon. Money flowed into the Philippine
economy as the U.S. paid a great deal to maintain these strategic stations. The
economies of Olongapo City and Angeles also profited, though many of the businesses
that emerged exploited women in the sex industry.

President Duterte is not a historian. But like most Filipinos, he is aware that the U.S.
continued to support President Ferdinand Marcos even after he had lost the mandate of
his citizens. Marcos' administration was rumored to be occupied by individuals
interested in filling their bank accounts through nefarious means. It took the 1983
assassination of popular opposition leader Benigno Aquino to finally convince President
Reagan that a time had come to step back from supporting Marcos.

While the current problems Filipinos face – abject poverty, unemployment and
underemployment and challenges to the health care system – are largely home-grown,
there are legacies of colonialism that contribute to a nation seeking its way out of graft
and corruption. Apart from the People Power’s ousting of President Marcos, two former
presidents, Joseph Estrada (1998-2001) and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (2001-2010),
were arrested for corruption following their time in office.

Both colonial powers, the Spanish and the Americans, supported an economically and
educated elite class that cemented a system where advancement was tied to
relationships. The Philippines finally has a president who does not care what the world
thinks. He, like many Filipinos, will no longer dance to an outsider’s tune. According to
Duterte and his advisors, the drug epidemic is destroying the Philippines and they are
determined to rid their country of this plague on the land.

Mourners at the wake of Eric Quintinita Sison. Family members of Sison said he was attempting to surrender when he was
gunned down by Phillipine police during a recent drug bust. Erik De Castro/Reuters

So, can Duterte’s comments against a pope, president, ambassador and the world’s
largest international organization just be attributed to a grouchy 71-year-old man and a
country with a colonial hangover?

In my opinion, it is much more than that.

This is a man – and a country – tired of the judgments of the United Nations that China
ignores and weary of promises that foreign nations have the best intentions in the
Philippines.

It is a nation that last year wildly celebrated on the big screen the man it sees as real
hero of the Philippine-American War which ended in 1902. The Filipinos' hero was not a
colonial collaborator, but General Antonio Luna – a man who fought and died against
the Americans.

Source: http://theconversation.com/the-history-behind-philippine-president-dutertes-obama-insult-
65075
Duterte's tongue the least of Obama's Philippine problem

Story highlights

 The nasty spat is not yet likely to damage the enduring relationship between
the countries
 But the man in charge in Manila introduces an unpredictable element to a
tense region

(CNN)It's not just a runaway tongue that worries the United

States about the volatile new president of the Philippines,
Rodrigo Duterte. It's what else he's thinking.
A foul-mouthed outburst cost the new leader of Washington's key Pacific ally
a chance to meet President Barack Obama in Laos on Tuesday. Duterte
blasted Obama as a "son of a bitch" and warned he would not tolerate any
violation of Philippines sovereignty he said such a question would entail,
after which the White House canceled their planned parley.

While the nasty spat is not yet likely to damage the enduring relationship
between the United States and the Philippines, and the countries'
strengthening military cooperation in the shadow of China's rise, there is
reason for Washington to be concerned.

'Unpredictable' leader
The unpredictable new man in charge in Manila introduces an unwelcome
element to an already tense region and is casting a late second-term cloud
over painstaking effort by Obama to intensify relations between the allies.

More broadly, Duterte's anti-Americanism and haphazard

diplomacy is worrying Washington's allies in the region. He has
pledged not to bring up South China Sea territorial disputes in
multilateral summits, moving closer to the position of Beijing
that all parties should hold one-on-one talks with China that
exclude the United States.

And that is likely to end up being a problem for the next US

president. The new occupant of the Oval Office will face a
regional policy challenge dominated by the assertive Chinese
President Xi Jinping, who would leap at the chance to weaken
US influence.

White House cancels meeting

Duterte and Obama had been due to meet for talks on the
sidelines of a regional summit in Laos. But the Filipino leader
lashed out when asked by reporters how he would respond if
Obama asked about human rights violations committed in his
fearsome war on drugs gangs.

"I am a president of a sovereign state. And we have long

ceased to be a colony of the United States," Duterte said,
paraphrasing how he would address Obama. "Son of a bitch, I
will swear at you."

The new Philippines president did not just obliterate the rules
of behavior of the international leader's club with his remarks.
He aimed a vulgarity at the President, which the White House
could not stand for. Hence the meeting's cancellation.

"It was the right decision by President Obama. This was an

offense against President Obama personally, but it was also an
offense against the office of the Presidency of the United
States," Nicholas Burns, the State Department's former third-
highest official told CNN's "New Day" on Tuesday.

In a sign however that both sides want to limit the fallout from
the showdown, a White House official told CNN that Obama
had a "brief discussion" with Duterte before the ASEAN gala
dinner in Laos on Wednesday. "The exchange consisted
of pleasantries between the two," the official said.

Donald Trump of the Philippines?

Duterte has been dubbed by some commentators as the
Donald Trump of the Philippines, but even the US billionaire's
often fiery rhetoric pales in comparison to the statements that
regularly escape the lips of the former mayor of the city of
Davao, who was elected in a landslide in May.

The White House clearly wanted to send a signal in its rebuke

of Duterte that loose talk and bluster does not cut it on the
international stage. Whether officials also had in mind
someone closer to home who has made inflammatory
statements on foreign policy -- the Republican presidential
nominee -- was not clear.

"I think it was our judgment that given the focus and attention
on President Duterte's comments leading into the meetings
here we felt that didn't create a constructive environment for a
bilateral meeting," Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security
advisor told reporters in Laos.

Apparently prompted by the US move, Duterte quickly

backtracked on Tuesday, saying he did not mean to insult
Obama but was addressing a reporter.

But this was not the first time he's directed offensive language
at American officials. In August, he called US ambassador to
Manila Philip Goldberg a "gay son of a b****" and said
Secretary of State John Kerry was "crazy."

Though Duterte's quick retreat after the White House reprimand showed that
the US still can call shots in the relationship, it gave Republican vice
presidential nominee Mike Pence an opportunity to attack Obama for
squandering US "credibility" in the world.

But the administration has more to worry about than the political impact of
Duterte's diatribe. That's because it can never be quite sure what he will do
next.
"There has been a lot of concern primarily because I don't think there is a lot
of understanding of the Philippine President or any way to predict what he is
going to do," said Rodger Baker, vice president of strategic analysis at
Stratfor, a geopolitical intelligence company. "It is that uncertainty that is
causing the concern."

While the defense relationship, which is set to see US forces deploy to five
bases in the Philippines to provide muscle to Obama's Asia pivot strategy, is
not currently at risk, it could be seriously buffeted by a hostile president in
Manila.

Anti-American attitudes?
Some analysts believe that Philippine leaders' remarks represent a long-
present streak of anti-Americanism that is inseparable from his worldview --
a scenario that suggests this week's controversy will not be the last of the
Duterte era.

"This is a guy that came in already with a deep-seated suspicion of the

United States," said Prashanth Parameswaran, associate editor of The
Diplomat magazine and a Southeast Asia specialist.

Duterte highlights stain on US's colonial past

In his comments, Duterte referred to an infamous US massacre in the southern

Philippines.

The US acquired the Philippines from Spain as a result of the 1898 Treaty of Paris,
which brought an end to the Spanish-American War.

Filipinos rose up against the US, waging a war that ended in 1902. But some of the
Moro population -- a Muslim group in the south of the country -- continued to reject
US rule, in what is known as the Moro Rebellion.

In 1906, an infamous battle took place in the volcanic crater of Bud Dajo on the
southern island of Jolo.

US forces, equipped with firearms, routed the Moros, who used traditional weapons,
leaving hundreds of them dead and only a handful of survivors.

The US's military victory proved a public relations disaster when it was revealed that
women and children were among those killed.
"He is trying to craft what he calls an independent foreign policy for the
Philippines. That is a very different line from where the (previous) Aquino
administration was in when they came in. The relationship with the US was
seen as very significant."

There are undertones in the US relationship with the Philippines that do not
exist in other alliances Washington maintains in Asia. The United States
claimed the archipelago from Spain following a war in 1898, so sovereignty
issues are particularly acute. Even after independence, Washington kept a
vast garrison in Subic Bay in the Philippines until being ordered to leave in
1992.

Duterte's recent offer to hold bilateral talks with Beijing on South China Sea
claims has also scrambled the geopolitical game in the region, since it may
complicate Washington's efforts to build a united front of allies opposed to
Beijing's position.

These developments are especially dismaying to Washington since an

international court in The Hague ruled against China's territorial claims in
the South China Sea in July, saying Beijing had infringed the sovereignty of
the Philippines.

READ: Has the South China Sea ruling set scene for next global conflict?

The case, which pre-dates the current administration in Manila, was seen as
a turning point in the South China Sea controversy -- but Duterte's unilateral
approach could water down its impact.

War on drugs
Washington and Manila may also be on a collision course over human rights
issues related to Duterte's war on drugs.

Since he took office, more than 1,900 people have died, including at least
700 in police operations. The carnage has sparked alarm among human
rights groups, which have complained about a wave of extrajudicial killings.

Sooner or later, the situation is likely to cause trouble in Washington when

members of Congress are asked to continue supporting US military aid to the
country.
The United States is also interested in ensuring that the current dispute does
not harm anti-terror cooperation with the Philippines set up to hunt Al-Qaeda
linked groups after the September 11 attacks in 2001 has been scaled back.

While the direction of US-Asia policy remains in doubt in the new

administration, the next White House will face a delicate task in managing
Duterte.

Manila is due to hold next year's ASEAN summit, and a festering

showdown with the president -- and a continuing riot of death in the
anti-drugs purge -- could make it difficult for a President Clinton or a
President Trump to attend.

"The more optimistic read would be, it's still early days, this is a
president who is just over two months into his presidency," said
Parameswaran. "It will take a while for Duterte to find his footing on
foreign policy, so the expectations for the relationship need to be
dampened a little bit."
Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/09/06/politics/rodrigo-duterte-obama-laos-meeting/

Philippines President
Rodrigo Duterte Reveals
What He Told President
Obama
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Friday he told President
Barack Obama in Laos that he hadn’t used foul language towards him.
Speaking to the Filipino community in Indonesia, ABC News reports,
Duterte told the group what he said to Obama during their brief
encounter at the ASEAN Summit: “President Obama, I’m President
Duterte. I never made that statement, check it out.”

The two were scheduled to meet in Laos until reports came out on
Monday that Duterte had apparently called Obama a “son of a bitch.”

Duterte has clashed with Obama over a rising death toll in the
Philippines war on drugs, but he said that the media had distorted his
words—he did say “swear,” it just wasn’t directed at Obama.

Obama responded to Duterte’s explanation in Laos by telling him: “My

men will talk to you,” to which he replied “OK.”

After cursing Obama, Duterte expresses

regret
Vientiane, Laos (CNN)Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is expressing
regret after his obscenity-laden rant against President Barack Obama
prompted the White House to cancel planned bilateral talks between the
two leaders.

Duterte, who cursed Obama as a "son of a bitch" Monday, said in a

statement through his spokesman that he regretted "it came across as
a personal attack on the US President."

"We look forward to ironing out differences arising out of national

priorities and perceptions," the statement released on Tuesday read.

Philippines' War on Drugs

White House officials previously said Obama would confront Duterte
about his country's handling of drug dealers, including extrajudicial
killings, which are government executions without the benefit of
judicial proceedings.
"Who does he think he is? I am no American puppet. I am the president
of a sovereign country and I am not answerable to anyone except the
Filipino people," Duterte scoffed in a speech Monday. "Son of a bitch, I
will swear at you."

A statement from Duterte's office Tuesday claimed the "son of the bitch"
insult was aimed at the journalist whose question prompted the fiery
response, and not at Obama.

Obama has worked hard to develop the Philippines' partnership with the US
and as a regional counterbalance to China. He's visited the country twice in
his second term, and announced on a stop there in November the return of a
US military presence at a critical naval base on the South China Sea.

But Duterte's derogatory comments and a spike in extrajudicial killings of

suspected drug dealers put the relationship in stormier waters.

Obama and Duterte had been set to meet in Laos this week, where Obama is
attending a meeting of Southeast Asian leaders. The statement from
Duterte's spokesman said the "meeting has been mutually agreed upon to be
moved to a later date."

Read more: Who is Rodrigo Duterte? From 'Punisher' to Philippines President

Obama instead met Tuesday with President Park Geun-hye of South Korea.

In his speech Monday, Duterte also blamed the United States for causing the
unrest on the southern Philippines island of Mindanao.

"As a matter of fact, we inherited this problem from the United States," he
said. "Why? Because they invaded this country and made us their subjugated
people. Everybody has a terrible record of extrajudicial killing. Why make an
issue about fighting crime?"

Duterte highlights stain on US's colonial past

In his comments, Duterte referred to an infamous US massacre in the

southern Philippines.

The US acquired the Philippines from Spain as a result of the 1898 Treaty
of Paris, which brought an end to the Spanish-American War.
Filipinos rose up against the US, waging a war that ended in 1902. But
some of the Moro population -- a Muslim group in the south of the country
-- continued to reject US rule, in what is known as the Moro Rebellion.

In 1906, an infamous battle took place in the volcanic crater of Bud Dajo
on the southern island of Jolo.

US forces, equipped with firearms, routed the Moros, who used traditional
weapons, leaving hundreds of them dead and only a handful of survivors.

The US's military victory proved a public relations disaster when it was
revealed that women and children were among those killed.

Duterte was referring to the US's history as a colonial power in the

Philippines, and specifically to one infamous massacre in the southern
Philippines -- the 1906 Battle of Bud Dajo -- in which hundreds of Filipinos,
including women and children, were killed.

"How many died? Six hundred," Duterte said Monday. "If (Obama) can answer
that question and give the apology, I will answer him."

Obama indicated Monday he was wary of meeting with Duterte, suggesting

the bombast could prevent making substantial progress between the two
nations.

"I always want to make sure if I'm having a meeting that it's productive and
we're getting something done," Obama said during a news conference.

"If and when we have a meeting, this is something that is going to be brought
up," Obama said, referring to the Philippines' controversial record of
combating drug crime since Duterte took office earlier this year.

Later, on Monday afternoon, the White House announced the meeting was
canceled.

The Philippines war on drugs

Since Duterte was elected, more than 1,900 people have died, including at
least 700 in police operations that were part of the President's hard-line war
on drugs.

"Double your efforts. Triple them, if need be. We will not stop until the last
drug lord, the last financier, and the last pusher have surrendered or [been]
put behind bars -- or below the ground, if they so wish," Duterte said during
his State of the Nation speech on July 25.

Who said it: Trump, Duterte or Putin?

2016 is the year of the 'strongman' leader, in Russia, in the Philippines
and potentially in the United States. Can you pick which leader has
been 'telling it like it is'?

Start the quiz

Despite the bullish tone, a government spokesman insisted the Duterte
administration is against any form of extrajudicial killings.

"We do not condone these acts," Presidential Communications Office

Secretary Martin Andanar said.

"(The) government is here to save our people from the drug menace
and punish the offenders, including the big-time ones. The PNP
(Philippines National Police) continues to investigate situations
involving vigilante killings and operational aspects where deaths are
reported."

Philippines drug war sparks outrage and fear 05:16

Human Rights Watch has called for the International Narcotics

Control Board and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to
condemn the "alarming surge in killings of suspected drug users or
dealers" in the country.
Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/09/05/politics/philippines-president-rodrigo-duterte-barack-
obama/
It seems that Pres. Rodrigo Duterte isn’t done with the controversies. In a recent press conference, he
admitted that he purposely skipped the bilateral meeting between Pres. Barack Obama and
ASEAN leaders last Sept. 8. Why? Because he wanted to “disrespect them” after he criticized the
extra judicial killings.

“I really skipped that one,” Pres. Duterte says. “You just cannot (lecture) a president of a sovereign
state. Even Obama. It would have been wrong for him to do that. That is why I disrespected them.”

Duterte says he snubbed Obama too at Laos meet

TIT FOR TAT.

President Duterte insisted on Monday that he snubbed US President Barack Obama
after the latter canceled their bilateral meeting scheduled on Sept. 6 on the sidelines of
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit in Vientiane, Laos, last
week.
The fiery Philippine leader said he skipped the Sept. 8 meeting between Obama and
Asean leaders, following Washington’s criticism of Manila’s war on drugs that has
claimed thousands of lives.

“I purposely did not attend the bilateral talks between Asean countries and the
president of the United States,” Mr. Duterte said at Rizal Hall in Malacañang where
he delivered a speech before outstanding police officials, military officers and school
teachers.
“I really skipped that one … . You just cannot (lecture) a president of a sovereign
state. Even Obama. It would have been wrong for him to do that. That is why I
disrespected them,” he added.
Mr. Duterte sparked a storm a day ahead of the Asean summit by calling Obama a
“son of a bitch” during a predeparture news conference in Davao City in which the
Philippine leader warned that the latter should not question him about his war on
drugs, which had left thousands dead.
Asked by a reporter how he would explain the killings to Obama, Mr. Duterte said in
a long answer that the Philippines had long ceased to be a US colony and that he was
answerable to nobody but the Filipino people.
“I do not care about him. Who is he?” Mr. Duterte said. “You must be respectful. Do
not just throw questions and statements. Putang ina, I will swear at you at that forum,”
he added, using the Filipino phrase for “son of a bitch.”
This prompted the US leader to call off their planned bilateral talks despite Mr.
Duterte’s expression of regret over his intemperate language.
The following day, however, the two allies had a brief, informal meeting in a holding
room before attending a gala dinner.
‘Never cursed him’
During his visit to Jakarta on Sept. 9, Mr. Duterte said he told the American president
during their encounter in Laos that he never cursed him. “President Obama, I’m
President Duterte. I never made that statement, check it out,” he told the Filipino
community in Indonesia.
Mr. Duterte said that Obama responded: “’My men will talk to you,’ and he replied
‘OK.’”
Mr. Duterte blamed the media for distorting his words, saying he did utter “son of a
bitch,” but it was not directed at Obama.
Duterte, who assumed the presidency in June, has had an uneasy relationship with the
United States, a longtime treaty ally of the Philippines.
He has said he is charting a foreign policy not dependent on the United States, and has
moved to reduce tensions with China over rival territorial claims in the South China
Sea.
Photo of dead Moros
To stop criticism over human rights violations in his war on drugs, he showed Asean
leaders and their Western counterparts a photograph of an atrocity during the US
pacification campaign in Western Mindanao at the beginning of the last century.
The photo showed about 200 dead Filipino Moros stacked in a common pit, with an
American soldier holding a rifle while stepping on the breasts of a naked Moro
woman.
He said he told the leaders, “This is human rights, what do you intend to do? …
Human rights violations whether committed by Moses or Abraham, is still violation of
human rights.”
The whole room was silent, according to Mr. Duterte who said he waited for Obama
to respond but the latter remained quiet.
None of US business
Even so, Obama urged the Philippine leader in a subsequent news conference to
conduct his antidrug war “the right way” and to protect human rights. Mr. Duterte said
it was none of America’s business.
Mr. Duterte won the presidential election by a landslide in May after promising that
tens of thousands of people would be killed in an unprecedented crackdown on illegal
drugs. About 3,000 suspected drug dealers and users have been killed since Mr.
Duterte took office on June 30.
His actions have also sparked a wave of international condemnation, including from
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the US Department of State.
Earlier on Monday, Mr. Duterte said he was ordering all US Special Forces to leave
Mindanao where they have been advising local troops in battling Moro extremists,
saying the West was at the root of the persistent insurgency. Reports from AFP and
AP
Source: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/144821/duterte-says-he-snubbed-obama-
too-at-laos-meet

Obama, Ban silly to raise human

rights; I purposely skipped ASEAN-
US talks
Source: http://www.interaksyon.com/article/132377/duterte-on-obama-ban-i-shamed-them-theyre-
silly-to-raise-human-rights
MANILA - (UPDATED W/ VIDEO)His Palace aides said he was downed by migraine, but President
Rodrigo Duterte said he purposely skipped the meeting between Southeast Asian leaders and US
President Obama on the sidelines of last week's ASEAN Summit in Laos, because he was stung by
the western leaders' criticism of his war on illegal drugs.

At the same time, he said he used the subsequent ASEAN-East Asia meeting, also in Laos, to make
a pointed rebuttal to Obama and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, whom he earlier
called a "fool" for also swallowing his critics' intrigues without verifying allegations of his role in extra-
judicial killings that have marred his anti-drugs campaign. Nearly 3,000 people have been killed
since the campaign began July 1, but only half is attributed to official police operations, leaving the
rest categorized as "deaths under investigation."

Speaking Monday night at the Metro Bank Foundation's awards rites for Outstanding Filipinos,
Duterte said he "purposely did not attend the bilateral talks between ASEAN countries and the
ambassador of, the President of the United States. "Talagang ini-skip ko ‘yun [I really skipped that
one]."

His communications teams said earlier he felt unwell, hobbled by migraine that Duterte had, in the
last election campaign, blamed for injuries he sustained in a motorcycle accident several years ago.
The President stressed his snub of the ASEAN meeting with Obama had nothing to do with his being
"anti-West" and was just a matter of principle.

"I attend all others--Putin, Chinese and the ASEAN. The reason is not I am anti-west or I do not like
the Americans. It is simply a matter of principle for me."

He admitted that his resentment is rooted in the May 9 election campaign, when the US and other
western countries criticized him on human rights issues. As Davao City's mayor for nearly two
decades, Duterte has had to fend off allegations he sanctioned the notorious "Davao Death Squads"
responsibile for many extra-judicial killings.
Duterte felt offended that Obama and UN's Ban raised the human rights issue once more before and
during the ASEAN meetings in Laos.

That's why, Duterte said, he threw out his prepared speech at the ASEAN-East Asia Summit that
followed the earlier ASEAN-US meeting, and used the occasion to once and for all confront the two
world leaders.

'That's why I shamed them; they're silly'

Referring to Obama and Ban, Duterte said, "it was wrong for them to lecture a president of a
sovereign republic; pati si [even] Obama. Wrong for them to do that. Kaya binastos ko sila. Eh, gago
[That's why I shamed them. They're silly]!"

He recalled displaying in the two leaders' presence photos of the Bud Dajo massacre by US troops
of Muslim Filipinos in Sulu during America's pacification campaign at the turn of the 20th century.

He felt it smarter to outgun America in presenting evidence of human rights violations.

"Talking about human rights, who are you? And what moral ascendancy do you have over me to talk
about human rights?" Duterte called out America.

Duterte shrugged off accusations he had ordered police to kill criminals.

"In front of Obama, sinabi ko pinatay talaga yung tatlo [I said the three criminals were really killed],"
referring to three men accused of rape. He then added, "I made them pay for what they [did] Pinatay
ko walang kaawa-awa. Ba't ako maaawa [They said we showed no mercy. Why should I show
mercy]? Pity is not one of my virtues."

Duterte asserted he does not care if he has low popularity ratings in the US or Europe."I am not the
president of EU or any country. I only serve the Filipino people. If i lost my position, fine. If I die or
[get] assassinated, fine also. But [I'll] never lose my honor."

He said the human rights violations issue, particularly, on the extra-judicial killings that mark his
campaign on illicit drugs, are being raised as part of intriguing by "yellow" forces, an apparent
reference to the Liberal Party and those loyal to his predecessor, Benigno Aquino III.