--- description: The two had a brief encounter at the ASEAN Summit on Wednesday after reports came out earlier in the week that Duterte had cursed Obama. title: Philippines' Rodrigo Duterte Says He Didn't Swear At Obama image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta224d36166d23a74/6988a4ef0b72e36e146eae49/ap_16250465676054.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte Reveals What He Told President Obama by [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 9, 2016 2:43 PM CUT  The Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has been forced to express regret Tuesday for referring to Barack Obama as a "son of a whore" (file photo) The Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has been forced to express regret Tuesday for referring to Barack Obama as a "son of a whore" (file photo)Bullit Marquez—AP by [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 9, 2016 2:43 PM CUT Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Friday he told President Barack Obama in Laos that [he hadn’t used foul language](http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/philippines-duterte-tells-obama-cursed-41970096 "undefined") 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](http://time.com/4479800/obama-duterte-dispute-risks-overshadowing-southeast-asian-summit/ "undefined"): “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](http://time.com/4483650/obama-duterte-son-of-a-whore-asean/ "undefined") 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](http://time.com/4462382/philippines-duterte-1800-killed-drug-war/ "undefined"), 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.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4485272/philippines-rodrigo-duterte-obama-asean/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4485272/philippines-rodrigo-duterte-obama-asean/"},"headline":"Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte Reveals What He Told President Obama","datePublished":"2016-09-09T14:43:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:29:48.212Z","description":"\"President Obama, I'm President Duterte. 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