Philippines’ Duterte hails Trump, wants no more quarrels with US

Reading Time:2 minutes

Philippine's President Rodrigo Duterte (C) waves after meeting with Philippine nationals living in Malaysia during an official visit in Kuala Lumpur on his first official visit to Malaysia. Photo: AFP

Published: 12:45am, 10 Nov 2016Updated: 1:33pm, 10 Nov 2016

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte congratulated Donald Trump on his election win and said on Wednesday he now wished to stop quarrelling with ally the United States, recalling his anger at the Obama administration for criticising him.

The maverick leader, dubbed “Trump of the East” for his unrestrained rants and occasional lewd remarks, has repeatedly hit out at Washington in recent months, threatening to cut defence pacts and end military joint drills.

“I would like to congratulate Mr. Donald Trump. Long live,” Duterte said in a speech to the Filipino community during a visit to Malaysia.

“We are both making curses. Even with trivial matters we curse. I was supposed to stop because Trump is there. I don’t want to quarrel anymore, because Trump has won.”

Philippine's President Rodrigo Duterte (C) leaves after meeting with Philippine nationals living in Malaysia. Photo: AFP

Duterte won a May election by a huge margin and is often compared to Trump, having himself been the alternative candidate from outside of national politics.

He campaigned on a populist, anti-establishment platform and struck a chord among ordinary Filipinos with his promises to fix what he called a broken country.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x