Senators urge Duterte to attend meet in US

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte’s attendance at the special summit in the United States with other leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) could be helpful for the Philippines, senators said yesterday.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who chairs the Senate committee on national defense and security, said being an active and prominent member of the ASEAN, the Philippines must maintain its status in the international community.

“The President may be well advised to attend the US summit, the Philippines being a prominent and senior member in the Southeast Asian region,” Lacson said.

“Since he was officially invited by (US) President (Donald) Trump, Duterte will be accorded the necessary diplomatic immunity and courtesy befitting a head of state. So there should be no apprehension on how he will be treated while in the US territory,” Lacson added.

He said Duterte’s presence at the summit can also serve as an opportunity to clarify whatever issues are being raised, especially on human rights and the administration’s campaign against illegal drugs as well as the country’s judicial system and due process brought by the resolution filed by some US senators in relation to the Magnitsky Act.

Asked about Trump’s invitation to Duterte, Sen. Ronald dela Rosa pointed out that the US president was a Republican, who apparently knows the real situation in the country better than the “gullible Democrats.”

“The more friends the better. He is being invited by a Republican US president, not by those gullible Democrat US senators who knew nothing about the real situation in the Philippines. So I think it’s OK. Such act will show to the whole world that our independent foreign policy is real,” Dela Rosa told reporters.

Sen. Richard Gordon said it would be Duterte who will make the final decision on the matter.

“Certainly when a nation, let’s say America, China or Russia (invites you) you should go, it’s always good to know each other very well for good understanding,” Gordon said.