Philippines' Duterte to apologise Pope for insulting

Manila: Philippine president-elect Rodrigo Duterte is planning to visit the Vatican to make a personal apology to the pope for calling him a "son of a whore", the politician's spokesman said on Thursday.

"The mayor repeatedly said he wants to visit the Vatican, win or lose, not only to pay homage to the pope but he really needs to explain to the pope and ask for forgiveness," Peter Lavina told reporters in the southern city of Davao.

Duterte, 71, the longtime mayor of Davao, surged to a landslide election win on Monday following an incendiary campaign in which he gleefully used foul language to disrespect authority figures.

In a rambling speech to announce his presidential run, Duterte lashed out at Pope Francis for causing traffic jams in Manila when he visited the mainly Catholic nation last year.

"It took us five hours to get from the hotel to the airport. I asked who was coming. They said it was the pope. I wanted to call him: 'Pope, son of a whore, go home. Don't visit anymore'," said Duterte.

Catholic leaders in the Philippines condemned Duterte's comments but, like many other controversial remarks, they had little impact on his popularity.

Other campaign firebombs included saying he wanted to rape a "beautiful" Australian missionary who was sexually assaulted and murdered in a 1989 prison riot in Davao.

He used "son of a whore" to describe many opponents and critics, including current President Benigno Aquino.

Duterte also vowed repeatedly that he would kill tens of thousands of suspected criminals in an unprecedented law-and-order crackdown, and boasted so many bodies would be dumped in Manila Bay that the fish would grow fat from feeding on them.