EPIPHANY

Philippine President Duterte Says God Told Him to Stop Swearing

Says he heard a voice that threatened to kill him.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has promised to stop using expletives after he said he heard a voice threatening to down his plane during a recent trip. Duterte, who has called Pope Francis a “son of a bitch” and told U.S. President Barack Obama to “go to hell,” made the pledge Thursday after returning from a trip to Japan, the AP reported. While flying home, he says, he was looking out the window when he suddenly heard a 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 said. “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,” he told a crowd in Davao. His remarks were met with applause, which he quickly cut off, saying: “Don’t clap too much or else this may get derailed.”