Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte Claims God Told Him to Stop Swearing or His 'Plane Will Crash'
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who is known for using vulgar language and making controversial remarks, such as calling President Obama a "son of a whore," claims he heard God's voice telling him to stop swearing or else his "plane will crash in midair."
"While on up there on my way here, I heard a voice telling me to stop swearing or the plane will crash in midair, and so I promised to stop," Duterte told reporters at Davao International Airport on Friday, according to BBC News.
"A promise to God is a promise to the people," he said, arriving home to Davao after a trip to Japan.
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When asked whether his promise would extend to his comments about the U.S. and the European Union, he suggested his response would "depend on the right timing," however.
"There is always a time. A time to be foul-mouthed. I don't like anybody reading my mind. It's all calibrated, it's always timing. Watch out for one thing, that's what I've learned, miscalculation," he added, according to GMA News.
Obama canceled a meeting with Duterte back in September after the Philippine leader used offensive language in warning Obama not to criticize him about a string of controversial extrajudicial killings in the Philippines involving drug pushers and users.
"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," Duterte said at the time about Obama, using the Tagalog phrase for "son of a [expletive]" or "son of a whore."
Duterte later apologized for his remarks, saying that he regrets if "it came across as a personal attack on the U.S. president."
Duterte has also in the past called Pope Francis a "son of a whore," and has not shied away from using profanities throughout his political career.
The Philippine president, who says he believes in God but rejects organized religion, has invoked the divine on a number of occasions when commenting on controversial public issues.
When talking about the death penalty in September and the Roman Catholic Church's opposition to it, he said that there are some important questions to ask, such as why God doesn't intervene and stop babies from being raped and killed.
"The bleeding hearts, the priests and all, said there was death penalty before, and nothing happened. Then I can simply say, death penalty didn't work because it wasn't imposed. Every president along the way would just say, one because of the Catholic Church; second the bleeding hearts, because only God can kill. The problem there, I ask you, what if there is no God? So we allow the criminals?" Duterte asked at the time.
"So where is now God when a 1 year old baby, 18-months-old baby, is taken from the mother's arms brought under a jeep and raped and killed. So where is God?"
