DAVAO CITY, Philippines — It would be a lean and mean team President Duterte wants to bring with him to the 32nd ASEAN Leaders Summit on April 26 to 28 in Singapore.
The President is doing away with his usual chartered Philippine Airlines flight for state visits to other countries or to attend equally important international conferences such as that of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) or the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).
He would also be dispensing with the departure and arrival statements, a fixture in previous foreign trips.
Duterte would be taking a private jet from Davao City to Singapore where he will meet with nine other ASEAN leaders. He will also take a private jet for the two-hour flight home.
The President has always said that on chartered flights, the seats are paid in full whether these are occupied or left vacant.
Government officials who would be accompanying him would have to handle their own logistics and attend to their own flights going to and from Singapore.