Philippines’ Duterte changes his mind, says no personal pope apology for ‘whore’ jibe

Philippine president-elect Rodrigo Duterte said on Sunday he had cancelled plans to visit the Vatican to personally apologise for calling the pope a “son of a whore”.

“No more. That’s enough,” Duterte told reporters when asked about the planned trip, pointing out he had already sent a letter of apology.

He said the trip “could be an exercise in duplicity”.

Duterte, 71, the long-time mayor of southern Davao city, won the May 9 election in a landslide following an incendiary campaign in which he gleefully used foul language to disrespect authority figures.

In a rambling speech to announce his presidential run, Duterte lashed out at Pope Francis for causing traffic jams in Manila when he visited the mainly Catholic nation last year.

“It took us five hours to get from the hotel to the airport. I asked who was coming. They said it was the pope. I wanted to call him: ‘Pope, son of a whore, go home. Don’t visit anymore’,” said Duterte.

Catholic Church leaders condemned Duterte’s comments but, like many other of his controversial remarks on the campaign, they had little impact on his popularity.