(Eagle News)—President Rodrigo Duterte’s “versatility” aided in his decision to stay on and attend Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit meetings, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said on Tuesday, Nov. 20.
According to Panelo, the President’s decision was a reflection of his “decisiveness in attending to an urgent domestic concern while performing his diplomatic duties to pursue a policy of cooperation in consonance with APEC’s goal of inclusive growth and development among its members.”
“Every decision or action of the President, whether it concerns domestic matters or international relations, is always predicated in the outlying principle of serving and protecting the people as the Constitution commands him,” Panelo said, noting that the President has “not strayed — nor will deviate — from this constitutional directive.”
“Had he returned to the country before the Apec ended, he would surely have gotten brickbats for not finishing the event from the usual nitpickers and detractors who could not see anything good of what he does as when he skipped a few events in the last ASEAN Summit to take power naps,” Panelo added.
The President stayed on and attended APEC-related events on Sunday, despite an earlier pronouncement from the Palace he would cut short his stay there due to “urgent domestic developments.”
Prior to this, Duterte was criticized by some for not attending all Association of Southeast Asian-related events in Singapore.
The Palace had said the chief executive took naps to catch on sleep, but that he was duly represented in those events.
