Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has warned President Barack Obama not to question him about extrajudicial killings when they meet in Laos for a regional summit this week, The Associated Press reported.
{mosads}Duterte said he is a leader of a sovereign country and is answerable only to the Filipino people.
The AP reports he said Obama must be respectful and not throw questions at him, or else, “son of a b—h, I will swear at you in that forum.”
The comment came after a reporter asked him how he’ll explain the extrajudicial killings in the Philippines, where more than 2,000 suspected drug sellers and users have been killed since Duterte launched a war on drugs after taking office on June 30.
“Clearly he’s a colorful guy,” Obama said when asked about his remarks at a press conference in China to end the G-20 summit.
Obama said he had heard about the comment and told his aides to determine whether it would still be productive to hold a face-to-face meeting.
“I always want to make sure if I’m having a meeting, it’s productive,” he added.
“We will always assert the need to have due process,” while fighting the issues of crime and drug trafficking, the president continued.