U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, left, glances at Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, right, at the start of 11th East Asia Summit on the last day of the 28th and 29th ASEAN Summits and other related summits at the National Convention Center Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016 in Vientiane, Laos. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
President Rodrigo Duterte failed to attend the regional leaders’ meeting with the heads of United States and India because he was not feeling well, a Cabinet official said on Thursday.
“He was not feeling well in the morning so he missed the two sessions,” Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza said in a statement, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit in Vientiane, Laos.
READ: Duterte skips meeting with US, India leaders
“But he was able to attend the East Asia Summit with 18 world leaders and the rest of the day’s remaining schedule until departure for Indonesia early evening today,” Dureza added.
In a text message, foreign affairs spokesperson Charles Jose said: “We heard that he was not feeling well but he was there at the East Asia Summit.”
Duterte is set to fly to Indonesia on Friday night for a 24-hour working visit.