MANILA - The United States State Department said Monday it asked the Philippine envoy in Washington to “clarify” President Rodrigo Duterte’s “inappropriate” comments about its outgoing ambassador to Manila.
Duterte said over the weekend that he was irritated with Ambassador Philip Goldberg and called him “bakla (gay)” for criticizing him during the campaign.
State Department Spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudaeu said a Filipino diplomat was summoned "to clarify those remarks." She did not name the diplomat.
"The first, specifically on the remarks, we’ve seen those inappropriate comments made about Ambassador Goldberg. He’s a multi-time ambassador, one of our most senior US diplomats," Trudeau said.
Goldberg criticized Duterte during the campaign for joking about the rape of an Australian missionary in Davao City in 1989 and the candidate responded by threatening to cut ties with the US, the Philippines' most important ally.
During the same briefing in Washington on Monday (Tuesday in Manila), Trudeau also expressed concern over the hundreds killed as Duterte wages a relentless campaign against illegal drugs.
On Tuesday, Philippine Foreign Affairs spokesperson Charles Jose confirmed that the Charge d'Affaires of the country's embassy in Washington DC was invited to the US State Department to discuss "the entire breadth of Philippines-US relations."
While he could not discuss the conversation, he reassured the public that the Philippines' relations with the US remain strong. He also emphasized that Duterte values relations with the US.
"[President Duterte] used effusive language to describe the very productive bilateral partnership," Jose said.
Source : http://news.abs-cbn.com/
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