Duterte critic Escudero to join President in Vietnam trip

Senator Francis Escudero. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

HANOI, Vietnam – One of the critics of President Rodrigo Duterte will be joining the President’s official visit to the socialist state today.

Sen. Francis Escudero is part of Duterte’s official delegation to Vietnam, arriving on Wednesday afternoon at the Noi Bai International Airport from Manila.

According to an advisory from Malacanang, Escudero is one of two senators accompanying the President on his two-day visit to Hanoi.

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, a staunch supporter and Duterte’s running mate in the 2016 national elections, is also part of the official delegation.

Escudero clashed with Duterte on a number of issues during the presidential campaign, claiming that the President used the disqualification case against Sen. Grace Poe as an excuse to run.

Escudero was the running mate of Poe in the 2016 national elections. They both lost in the vice presidential and presidential race, respectively.

Escudero is chair of the Senate committee on banks, financial institutions and currencies while Cayetano chairs the Senate committees on foreign relations and agrarian reform.

The other members of the official delegation are: Department of Foreign Affairs secretary Perfecto Yasay, Department of Trade and Industry secretary Ramon Lopez, Department of Justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II;

National security adviser Hermogenes Esperon, Presidential Communications Office secretary Martin Andanar, secretary to the Cabinet Leoncio Evasco, and Philippine ambassador to Vietnam Noel Servigon.

The official delegation will arrive with Duterte at past 4 p.m. Wednesday at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi and will accompany him on his two-day official visit.

The President is expected to meet with top Vietnamese officials to boost bilateral ties and cooperation.

Upon his arrival, Duterte will meet with members of the Filipino community in Vietnam on Wednesday night.

READ: Filipinos in Vietnam back Duterte war on drugs

The highlight of the second day of the President’s official visit is his official meetings with top Vietnamese officials.

This include prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, state president Tran Dai Quang, and Nguyen Phu Trong, the general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

Duterte’s last official engagement in Vietnam will be a one-and-a-half hour state banquet in his honor at the International Center on Thursday evening, after which he will return to the Philippines later that night. CDG