Pres. Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Alan Peter Cayetano. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
Senator Alan Cayetano will join President Rodrigo Duterte and the rest of the Philippine delegation in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit this week in Laos, Malacañang said on Sunday.
In a short statement, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said, “Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, in his capacity as the Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will be part of the Philippine delegation to attend in the bilateral and sideline meetings at the Asean Summit and related summits.”
Cayetano was Duterte’s running mate in the 2016 elections and was among the contenders for the Senate presidency. He lost the vice presidency to then Camarines Sur Representative Leni Robredo and the Senate presidency to Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, who is also president of political party PDP-Laban.
Cayetano remained with the Senate majority and was assigned to chair the foreign relations committee.
The Philippines will host the Asean and related summits in 2017. Duterte will accept the country’s 2017 chairmanship of the Asean this week. He will also meet with at least nine heads of state.
The Asean is a regional bloc of Southeast Asian states that promotes intergovernmental cooperation and economic integration. The Philippines is among its founding member states./rga