Duterte stands by ‘gay’ remarks

LABANGAN, Zamboanga del Sur—President Duterte stood pat on his controversial statement on Thursday, saying US ambassador to Manila, Philip Goldberg, deserved to be called “gay” and a “son of a whore” for interfering in the country’s internal affairs.

“Just leave me be in my broadsides,” said Mr. Duterte in a speech before soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division here.

“They were true anyway.”

In a speech also before soldiers in central Cebu City last week, Mr. Duterte said he was annoyed at Goldberg, who at the height of the May campaign expressed disappointment at the President for joking about how he missed the queue when an Australian missionary was being raped during a prison siege in Mindanao in 1989.

Goldberg was widely quoted as objecting to the statement, saying that his government did not condone statements that trivialized rape.

While Mr. Duterte said he had no problems meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry in June, he said he had a “fight” with the American official’s “gay ambassador” referring to Goldberg.

“I am annoyed by him. Son of a bitch. He meddled in the elections, giving a statement. You’re not supposed to do that,” the President said in Cebu.

Washington was displeased with the “inappropriate” homophobic remark and subsequently summoned Manila’s charge d’affaires Patrick Chuasoto early this week to clarify.

President Duterte’s office has been trying to manage the diplomatic fall-out of his controversial statement, arguing that it was not meant to be made public, even as the speech was broadcast live on government television.

The United States remains as the former American colony’s largest defense and trade partner, and there have been concerns the remarks could affect Filipinos living and working there. It also comes at a time when Manila is facing an expansionist China in the South China Sea, despite a UN-backed court ruling favoring the Philippines.

Ernesto Abella, the President’s spokesperson, said Mr. Duterte’s statement had been sufficiently explained.

“The explanations have been made. The explanations have been properly made,” Abella told a press briefing when asked if the government would offer an apology.

As for Mr. Duterte calling the ambassador gay, Abella said this was “not meant to be a public statement.”

“It was really addressed to a certain audience and the comments were confined specifically to that audience, and the charge d’affaires already made proper explanations to the state department,” Abella said.

Abella also did not answer directly when asked if the Philippines was apologizing for the slur.

“I’m saying that he [the charge d’affaires] went and explained,” he said.

Local issue

But the President appears unaffected, instead accusing Goldberg of wading into a purely local issue.

“Why would you give a statement when the election is going on?” Mr. Duterte asked. “That is our business.”

The President, however, conceded it was but logical for the Philippines to turn to the United States for defense logistics because the two countries enjoyed a long history of military cooperation.

The Philippines and United States are signatories to the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, a controversial defense pact that allowed for the strategic prepositioning of American troops and military hardware on local soil.