Foul-mouthed Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who called the Pope a "son of a bitch" and told Barack Obama to "go to hell", says he has promised to God he will not spew expletives again.
Duterte's profanities have become his trademark, especially when threatening to kill drug dealers as part of his war on narcotics, which has left thousands dead since he took office at the end of June.
Duterte made the stunning pledge on arrival in his southern home town of Davao city late on Thursday from a trip to Japan.
While flying home, he said he was looking at the sky while everyone was sound asleep and he heard a voice that said "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."
Duterte's vow was met with applause, but he cautioned: "Don't clap too much or else this may get derailed."
He shocked Roman Catholics in 2015 when he fired an expletive while expressing his disgust over a traffic jam that trapped him while Pope Francis was visiting Manila.
"I wanted to call, 'Pope, you son of a bitch, go home. Don't visit here any more'," he told supporters.
He later apologised after Filipino bishops expressed shock and outrage.
It is not certain if the 71-year-old president, who has been compared to US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump because of his brash language, can keep his promise.
Duterte made a similar pledge in June when it became evident he had won the May 9 presidential elections on a pledge to end crimes, especially illegal drugs and corruption.
It did not take long for Duterte to break the vow.
He has repeatedly levelled SOB-laced tirades against US President Obama, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, opposition politicians and human rights advocates, while heaping praise on Chinese and Russian leaders.
