MANILA: President Rodrigo Duterte, who heard a voice threatening to down the plane if he did not stop swearing, has ‘promised God’ to never swear again.
The controversial politician made the pledge when he returned to his home city of Davao City in the south of the country after a trip to Japan on Thursday, reported The Independent.
He reportedly said he heard the voice say ‘If you don’t stop epithets, I will bring this plane down now’.
“And I said, ‘Who is this?’ So, of course, ‘it’s God’”, he was quoted as saying. “So, I promise God to … not express slang, cuss words and everything. So you guys hear me right always because a promise to God is a promise to the Filipino people.”
The decision is a turnaround for the 71-year-old who has been compared to US presidential candidate Donald Trump due to his outspokenness and determination to oppose what he called the self-serving elites running the country, said the news portal.
He has reportedly condemned the human rights groups and foreign governments who have called for him to end his crackdown on illegal drugs in the country.
Thousands of those suspected of being involved in the trade have been killed since he took office at the end of June, reported The Independent.
