After ‘successful’ Asean summit, more foreign trips for Rody

MANILA, Philippines – After attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Laos, which was described as an “unprecedented success,” President Duterte may visit two more countries this month, Malacañang disclosed yesterday.

As this developed, Presidential Communications Office Secretary Martin Andanar said he was taking full responsibility for the blunder on the seating arrangement that the Palace announced ahead of the ASEAN gala dinner in Laos last week.

Andanar expressed regret over the issuance of the erroneous press release stating that Duterte would be seated between US President Barack Obama and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon during the event.

Duterte was instead seated between Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

Details of the President’s upcoming trips were not yet available as of yesterday but Andanar said they would be working visits.

“Let’s wait for the next events, what other countries would be visited by our President,” Andanar told state-run radio dzRB.

Duterte was supposed to visit Brunei, supposedly his first foreign trip before attending the ASEAN and related summits but decided to cancel the trip after the Sept. 2 bombing in Davao City.

The President’s participation to ASEAN was overshadowed by the controversy stirred by his tough remarks on the United States’ supposed interference with his war on drugs. Before leaving for Laos, he said nobody, not even Obama, should lecture him about human rights and declared that many more would be killed because of the anti-drug crackdown.

This put him on the spotlight and was seen as the reason the dinner became highly anticipated. Duterte also criticized Ban for condemning his apparent endorsement of extrajudicial killings.

But Duterte managed to chat with Obama and Ban briefly and separately even if they were not seated together.

‘Unprecedented’

During the ASEAN summit, Duterte called for greater regional cooperation against transnational crimes like drug trafficking, piracy and terrorism. He also cited the need to support small businesses, hike infrastructure spending and greater engagement with other countries.

But Malacañang believes Duterte’s most important message during the ASEAN meet was his emphasis on the Philippines’ independent foreign policy.

“We have our own foreign policy to follow and then when it comes to questions of human rights, before we question a human rights policy or accuse a country (of violating human rights), we should look at the context,” Andanar said, referring to criticisms on Duterte’s tough stance against illegal drugs.

“If you hear what he said, you would be struck because it was unprecedented as stated by the foreign affairs department and other dignitaries,” he added.

During the East Asia summit last Thursday, Duterte reportedly slammed those from the imperialist powers who killed several Filipinos during colonial times. Sources were quoted as saying that Duterte did not mention any countries during the speech, which the foreign affairs department described as “a passionate intervention.”

Some are convinced though that Duterte was alluding to the killing of many Mindanao Muslims by US forces in the early 20th century.

“The President explained that not all who are complaining about our country do not have questions with regard to human rights violations. It’s also a matter of whether they have the moral ascendancy to do so,” Andanar said.

“The President said in his arrival speech that somehow, he made us, Filipinos, proud because he fought for our rights. At the same time, he expressed our more than 400 years of ill feelings towards the things that imperialists, our colonial masters did,” he added.

“We should stand on our own feet and wave our flag. We should be proud of our country.”

After the ASEAN summit, Duterte flew to Indonesia for a two-day working visit that focused on cooperation against transnational crimes, including piracy and kidnapping, illicit drug trade and terrorism, and the plight of Filipino migrant workers.

No laughing matter

Meanwhile, Andanar said he has ordered an investigation in the presidential news desk to determine why the statement on the seating arrangement went out without his approval.

“It’s not a matter to laugh about,” Andanar told radio dzBB as the information was picked up and hyped by both local and international media.

“The Presidential News Desk was overzealous regarding the seating arrangement of the President without checking the facts. I take full responsibility for that booboo,” he added.

Andanar said he directed PCO Undersecretary Enrique Tandan III to look into the incident.

“I regret what happened. It was an unintentional mistake. We will look into that problem,” he added.

Andanar, a former broadcaster, said he would not release “exclusive” information about an event that could be changed by the host. He said he was shocked when the media asked him about the seating arrangement during the ASEAN gala dinner.