Duterte shares Xi meeting details with Marcos

MANILA, Philippines — More than a year after stepping down from office, former president Rodrigo Duterte returned to Malacañang on Wednesday to provide President Marcos details of his recent meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Except for a few details like the time and the people present during the visit, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) did not say much about the event, merely stating that it was about Duterte’s engagement with Xi and that he had given Marcos some advice.

“Former President Rodrigo Duterte went to see President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to talk to him about his recent meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in China,” PCO Secretary Cheloy Garafil said in a statement issued Wednesday night.

“They also discussed other issues. The former President likewise gave some good pieces of advice to President Marcos,” she added.

The meeting between the two presidents took place weeks after Duterte’s visit in Beijing and a day after senators unanimously adopted a resolution condemning China’s incursions in the West Philippine Sea, the portion of South China Sea inside Manila’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

According to the PCO, Duterte arrived in Malacañang at about 6:15 p.m. and was welcomed by Marcos, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Special Assistant to the President Secretary Antonio Lagdameo Jr., Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, Garafil and Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, who served as justice secretary under the previous administration.

With Duterte were Sen. Bong Go, who worked as his special assistant when he was president, and former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea.

Upon arrival, Marcos and Duterte had a one-on-one meeting. Go, Medialdea and Cabinet secretaries later joined them. The meeting ended at 8.15 p.m., the PCO said.

The meeting between Duterte and Xi took place at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on July 17. According to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry, Xi pointed out that while Duterte was Philippine president, he “resolutely” made the strategic choice of improving relations with China, making it possible for the ties between Manila and Beijing to “return to the right track.”

According to the statement, China “always values its relations with the Philippines, and is ready to work with the Philippines to promote the steady and sustained development of bilateral relations.”

Grateful to Duterte

Xi also expressed hope that Duterte would “continue to play an important role in the friendly cooperation between the two countries.”

“Rodrigo Duterte thanked China for its valuable support for the Philippines’ economic and social development, particularly its generous assistance to the Philippines in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic,” the Chinese foreign ministry said.

“Developing friendly relations with China serves the interests of the two peoples and is also the majority will of the Philippine people. Rodrigo Duterte expressed his readiness to continue to play his role in promoting the Philippines-China friendship,” it added.

During his presidency, Duterte was accused of cozying up to China on the West Philippine Sea row in exchange for loans, an allegation his officials have denied. Duterte’s critics claim that his pro-China policy had emboldened Beijing to commit aggressive acts in the South China Sea, a strategic sea lane where more than $5 trillion in goods transit every year. China claims “historic rights” over virtually the entire South China Sea, where Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping claims.

Reports of incursions and harassment of Filipino fishermen by Chinese ships persisted even after an international arbitral tribunal based in The Hague voided China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea in 2016.

Meeting with senators

After his meeting with Duterte, Marcos joined a dinner with senators also at Malacañang.

The Palace gave no word on whether Marcos and the senators talked about the West Philippine Sea dispute. In a text message, Garafil said the gathering was a birthday dinner for Sen. Joel Villanueva.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said he and his Senate colleagues briefly discussed during their “cordial” meeting with Marcos their resolution on the West Philippine Sea issue.

“The President is well aware of the stand of the Senate on the West Philippine Sea issue and respects the sense of the Senate regarding this issue,” Zubiri said in a Viber message to reporters.

“We didn’t dwell much on that topic as we wanted to keep the dinner a cordial and casual get together,” Zubiri said.

But in a separate interview with CNN Philippines yesterday, Zubiri said Marcos also shared details of his meeting with Duterte.

Zubiri said Marcos told them that it was Duterte who brought up the West Philippine Sea issue to Xi whom the former president supposedly asked to “look kindly to the Philippines.”

Last Tuesday, the Senate unanimously adopted a resolution condemning China’s continued harassment of Filipino fishermen and its persistent incursions in the West Philippine Sea.