Philippine leader Duterte says God told him to stop cursing

"While flying home, he said he was looking at the sky while everyone was sound asleep, some snoring, and he heard a voice that said “‘if you don’t stop epithets, I will bring this plane down now.”

A leader with fascistic tendencies hearing voices in his head?

This can't be a good thing.

They essentially have a lower blue collar mentality guy in charge over there. A Trump without the rump. Did this guy ever go to college? Maybe rodeo college.

Who'd want to get on a plane with Pres. Duterte now?

If he went in the bathroom and let off a few choice strings the wings might start twirling ...

Philippine leader Duterte says God told him to stop cursing

"The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four is suffering from a mental illness. Look at your 3 best friends. If they are ok, then it's you." -Rita Mae Brown.

He should have just kept it at "god told me". Now he sounds even crazier after explaining his hallucinations.

OK then, he is allowed one do-over comparing the Pope's mom to a female dog and telling Obama to enjoy a trip to Hades without swearing. You'd have to imagine SNL will be moving their studio to Manilla in the near future.

smithinjapan OCT. 28, 2016 - 03:18PM JST He should have just kept it at "god told me". Now he sounds even crazier after explaining his hallucinations.

Powell explain his hallucinations of WMD. Maybe Duterte is listening. Philippines is a sovereign country. He should be able to say what he wants.

"Powell explain his hallucinations of WMD. Maybe Duterte is listening. Philippines is a sovereign country. He should be able to say what he wants."

In the case of Powell and other warmongers, there is difference between a lie and a hallucination.

In the case of Duterte, yes, he can say what he wants but he should also be judged on it.

What he said should terrify sane people. Voices in the head of a leader of a country is more than a cause for concern.

Oh man, god bless my country! this man is insane!

Jimizo OCT. 28, 2016 - 04:03PM JST In the case of Duterte, yes, he can say what he wants but he should also be judged on it.

He doesn't have anything to lose, but much to gain. The U.S. has been pulling back from economic assistance to the smaller and poorer but countries in the Pacific region for a number of decades now and China is filling the gap. The Philippines occupies one of the world’s most important and busiest sea lanes of communication with its widespread maritime territories. Majority of the crude oil and energy supplied to Japan go through this sea lane. That is the lifeline for Japan.

sfjp330

Ok. Now can you tell me what that has to do with voices in his head?

Jimizo OCT. 28, 2016 - 04:22PM JSTOk. Now can you tell me what that has to do with voices in his head?

If you follow his history, Duterte acts the same since he was Mayor of Davao. He has not changed.

Oh ! yer , He Should Think then Shut his mouth think again ,then be polite but firm .

Nothing surprisingly new here. Duarte's just following in the footsteps of one of his heroes.

"I believe that I am acting in the sense of the Almighty Creator."

(Adolf Hitler, 'Mein Kampf')

this maybe another part of his game. he knows, many filipinos still believe in superstitions and very religious.... believe me the religious supporters of him will think of this as a good thing!

i bet some will say : "OH DADDY DIGONG (Duterte's nickname) CAN TALK TO GOD, HE IS THE ONLY PRESIDENT WHO CAN TALK TO GOD AND CHOSEN BY GOD, HE IS VERY GODLY! PRAISE HIM!

"If you follow his history, Duterte acts the same since he was Mayor of Davao. He has not changed."

Right. So always a loon then.

He will soon forget his promise and start cursing just like before, but don't worry because very few people are now taking his words seriously anyway.

Someone who talks to God is religious, anyone who hears God talk to them, is insane!

Philippine leader Duterte says God told him to stop cursing

Get a hearing aid, Rod. She said "stop breathing."

This is not going to end well.

Duterte probably makes all Filipino psychialists too busy. Sorry to Filllipi

Hope Japan can help your country.

When god starts talking to you, it never ends well.

They essentially have a lower blue collar mentality guy in charge over there.

Wow! I hear his popularity has just gone up in Japan after the way he behaved during hist visit. Mainly because he comes over as a blue-collar guy.

Did this guy ever go to college?

Yes.

albaleo: Wow! I hear his popularity has just gone up in Japan after the way he behaved during hist visit. Mainly because he comes over as a blue-collar guy.

Which venues?

Can see that going over well in the rarified halls of government offices.

Which venues?

Not sure what you mean. But my wife was discussing Duterte with a friend in positive terms, so that would be my living room.

But, for example, this Toranomon News show had a tone somewhat different from recent depictions of the guy. (from about 1hour 2 mins in)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmY7C3D6hfc&list=PLdoANlSaeHve-kT14L4OaVhBd8m4KVMYt&index=1

albaleo: Not sure what you mean.

I was thinking that popularity as a blue-collar guy would be the opposite of useful when government is supposedly stuffed with grads of top-end universities. It'd be nice to be appreciated by the average Japanese person, but that's nothing he could take to the bank. Because they're not his constituency, but the Japanese parties' constituencies. And even if the Japanese opposition tends blue collar, are they going to embrace a guy who favors extrajudicial killings?

turbostat,

You're asking about things I haven't fully considered. My initial comment which was an expression of shock at the reference to blue-collar mentality. Perhaps I misunderstood it, but it seemed derogatory to me.

are they going to embrace a guy who favors extrajudicial killings?

I think it's possible if they find a way to reword your question a little. :-)

I haven't followed the Duterte news much, and have just seen the headline references and comments here and there. He sounds like a complete thug. But then I hear a story that he was brought up in a gangster-like environment, and his experience was such that he saw such people as an absolute wall to progress for everyone. So he set out to destroy them. I can see that it's easy to make parallels with past political leaders who perhaps had similar zeal to wipe out parts of the population. But if his target is based on people's behavior and not at all on any ethnic or religious characteristic, perhaps he is different. Time will tell.

@noypikantoku

Bingo!

I've already heard that kind of talk. I have a friend who is a dye in the wool Duterte supporter from Mindanao. When I told her about this story she smiled in a knowingly manner and said "Praise God".

Duterte is becoming delusional and going to crazy soon. Next he will say "the dead peoples are grabbing and told him stop ordering to killing peoples without trail or they will take him to hell" in the dream. His Karma will come and knock his front door soon.

He used god in his way. But Americans say god in their songs, ceremonies all the time too.

I am now a BIG fan of Duterte. Japan just voted against the UN resolution to make nuclear weapons illegal. Japan is, to use Duterte's terminology, certainly a "DOG of the US": “When I say ‘jump!’, you jump! When I say ‘play dead’, you play dead! When I say ‘do something morally unconscionable by any moral standard’, you do something morally unconscionable by any moral standard!” Ashamed to be a Japanese today.

I do not believe that anyone believes that God actually talked to him.

Most probably, he has been warned by USA and the forces behind the UN (that want globalization) that they could indeed bring is plane down. It was obviously NOT God. It was a obvious and physically capable threat with NO option for him. He may be powerful and protected while he is in his own country, but in the air everyone is vulnerable,

The warning probably was not so much that he could not swear or use foul language, but that he could not use it and talk against or talk bad about those who hold power in the world especially using such direct and expletive words, even if what he may say is true. He was asked NOT to do it in public, especially with the media.

For him and for his people that are very religious, it was probably a much more palatable explanation to use God as the reason. No one would believe that he would stop using such language within his own country and among his countrymen. It has been his character and the very essence of his speech that has made him popular and so powerful.