QUEZON CITY, Philippines (Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte said that he skipped the ASEAN – US Summit in Vientiane, Laos on purpose.
Duterte said that it was not because of migraine, as earlier announced by the Presidential Communications team, but that he intentionally did not go to the meeting out of “principle.”
The President explained that he is not personally angry with the United States of the America, but is just standing by his principles about the crimes committed by US against the Philippines. Duterte had earlier showed pictures of Filipinos killed by the American soldiers in the early 19th century during its occupation, particularly in Mindanao during the ASEAN Summit.
“I purposely did not attend the bilateral meeting between the ASEAN and the US. Talagang ini-skip ko iyan. The reason is not that I am anti-West… It is simply a matter of principle,” Duterte said in a speech.
President Duterte said that he also resented the allegations made by the US and the United Nations on the human rights violations in his administration’s war against illegal drugs.
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