PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has apologized to Filipino actress and multimedia personality Kris Aquino after her father, the late senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., was dragged into the Seoul kiss controversy.

Duterte issued the apology through his closest aide, Special Assistant to the President Christopher Lawrence Go, who reached out to Aquino through a text message.

"I texted her (Aquino), telling her that we (Duterte and I) are sorry for the incident," Go said in an interview with Palace reporters.

"We all agreed to put this issue to rest out of respect for all our fellow Filipinos. I believe that politics should not divide us. Let's just help each other rather than be divided for the country's development," he added.

Aquino, the youngest daughter of the slain senator and the late President Corazon Aquino, lashed out Tuesday, June 5, at dancer-turned-government-official, Communications Assistant Secretary Margaux "Mocha" Uson, for disrespecting her family.