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Duterte may visit 2 more countries this month

September 11, 2016 | 4:16pm

MANILA, Philippines — After attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meet in Laos and a working visit to Indonesia, President Rodrigo Duterte may visit two more countries this month, Malacañang said Sunday.

Details were not yet available as of Sunday but Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said the two trips 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 station dzRB.

“Within the month, I believe our president will go to two more countries for a working visit,” he added.

Duterte was supposed to visit Brunei before attending the ASEAN conference but decided to cancel the trip after the Sept. 2 bombing in Davao City that left 15 people dead and more than 60 others wounded.

The canceled visit, which was supposed to be held from Sept. 4 to 5, would have been Duterte’s first foreign trip as president. In a previous interview, Duterte said he would thank Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah for taking care of Filipino migrant workers and for providing them jobs.

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

Duterte’s scheduled bilateral meeting with Obama was canceled hours after he delivered the remarks. The president, later on, said he regrets that his statements were perceived as a personal attack against the American leader.

Before the ASEAN gala dinner last Thursday, Duterte chatted with Obama and clarified that he did not curse him as reported by the media. In a press conference, Obama said he does not take Duterte’s comments personally but reminded the Philippine leader to address crime and terrorism “the right way.”

During the gala dinner, Duterte also chatted briefly with United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who once condemned the Philippine leader’s apparent endorsement of extrajudicial killings.

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.

‘Unprecedented’

Malacañang believes Duterte’s most important message during the 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 against Duterte’s tough stance against narcotics.

“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 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 has 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 and the plight of Filipino migrant workers.

Duterte and Indonesian President Joko Widodo agreed to work together to address terrorism and illegal drugs and to boost cooperation in maritime security and law enforcement. The two leaders also discussed the case of Mary Jane Veloso, the Filipina sentenced to death for drug trafficking but Duterte refused to reveal details.

Veloso was supposed to be executed by firing squad last year but was given an indefinite temporary reprieve after her recruiter had surrendered to Philippine authorities.