The Philippines' controversial new president, Rodrigo Duterte, said he regretted calling US President Barack Obama a "son of a whore" while warning him not to concern himself with Filipino human rights in a press conference on Monday.

Duterte said in a statement on Tuesday that his "strong comments... elicited concern and distress, we also regret it came across as a personal attack on the US president," the Associated Press reported.



The White House canceled a meeting between the two leaders after Duterte made the remark.

At a press conference before he was set to fly to Laos to meet Obama and other leaders at the ASEAN conference, the Filipino leader was asked how he might react if the US president should question him over his severe anti-drug war, which has killed some 2,400 people since he assumed office in June.

"Who does he think he is? I am no American puppet. I am the president of a sovereign country and I am not answerable to anyone except the Filipino people," he told reporters.

"You must be respectful," Duterte said, referring to Obama. "Do not just throw away questions and statements. Son of a whore, I will curse you in that forum."

"We will be wallowing in the mud like pigs if you do that to me," he said.

Some outlets translated Duterte's comments into English as "son of a bitch."