MOSCOW – Apart from Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Duterte and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will be holding separate bilateral talks here today as the Philippine leader seeks to expand diplomatic ties with Russia during his five-day state visit.
Malacañang also announced that Duterte is set to hold bilateral talks with Jordanian King Abdullah II Bin Al-Hussein tomorrow in Sochi, south of Moscow.
The President left last night for his second visit to Moscow on a chartered Philippine Airlines flight.
He named Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra as officer-in-charge of the executive department.
“To ensure the continuity of government service, it is necessary to designate an officer-in-charge to take care of the day-to-day operations and oversee the general administration of the executive department,” read Special Order No. 1061 that was issued by Malacañang yesterday.
Under the order, Guevarra, if necessary, would act for and on behalf of Duterte from Oct. 1 to 6, except on matters that the President is required by the Constitution to act on in person.
Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Michael Ong was also designated as acting Executive Secretary and will handle the day-to-day operations in the Office of the President.
Barring any hitches, Duterte and Medvedev will meet for the second time today. They first met during the 31st ASEAN Summit in Manila in November 2017 where Duterte recognized Moscow’s role in providing Philippine security forces with military hardware for the Marawi siege.
Duterte will also receive in a courtesy call Igor Sechin, the chief executive officer of Rosneft (Global Public Oil and Gas Corp.), in Moscow.
On Thursday, he will have a series of official activities in Sochi, Russia’s summer destination, that include a speaking engagement during the plenary session of Valdai Conference Forum where he will share the stage with Putin and other guest world leaders.
He will then come back here for activities that include a walking tour of the Kremlin. In Moscow, he will be laying a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier. He is also expected at the Philippine-Russia Business Forum and Philippine Cultural Gala Performance.
The President will have an interaction with the Filipino community on Friday before flying back to Davao.
Duterte will be conferred an honorary doctorate degree, according to the Presidential Communications Operations Office. – With Alexis Romero, Edith Regalado