(Eagle News) — Malacanang congratulated the United States 45th President Donald Trump on Saturday (January 21), saying the Philippine government was looking forward to “working closely” with the new Trump administration.
“We congratulate the people of the United States for a successful 58th presidential inauguration. In keeping with the two-century American democratic tradition, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States of America outside the U.S. Capitol at 12 noon on January 20, 2017,” said presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella
“We look forward to working closely with the new administration of President Trump anchored on mutual respect, mutual benefit, and shared commitment to democratic ideals and the rule of law,” he said. “We wish President Trump success in the next four years of his administration.”
In December last year, President Duterte only had good words for then US President-elect Trump after making a phone call to congratulate him for winning the US presidency.
President Duterte then described his phone call to Trump as “encouraging” and said that he felt a rapport between them.
After the phone call which lasted seven minutes, Mr. Duterte said Trump had understood his crackdown against crime and illegal drugs.
“I could sense a good rapport, an animated President-elect Trump. And he was wishing me success in my campaign against the drug problem,” Duterte said in comments his office released on December 3 last year.
“He understood the way we are handling it … I supposed that what he really wanted to say was that we would be the last to interfere in the affairs of your own country,” President Duterte said then.
The demeanor was definitely very different with how Mr. Duterte viewed then US President Barack Obama who had criticized his illegal drugs campaign.
The Philippine president was then offended by Obama’s public criticism of his program to stamp out illegal drugs in the Philippines, especially when the latter expressed apprehension that this could be prone to alleged human rights abuses
