Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi. KRISTINE ANGELI SABILLO/INQUIRER.net
The meeting of President Rodrigo Duterte’s party mates with the Communist Party of China is a “simple side trip” to the Department of Energy’s official meeting in Beijing, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi clarified.
Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan’s (PDP-Laban) unannounced Jan. 22 to 25 meeting with the Chinese state party was only revealed after finance committee chair Efraim Genuino asked the Sandiganbayan to allow him to leave for Beijing.
READ: PDP-Laban exec asks Sandigan OK to visit China
In a statement, Cusi said the meeting was “a simple side trip for pleasantries, sharing and cultural exchange.”
“About the PDP’s trip to China, I would say that it coincides with the DOE official trip,” he said.
Cusi said he would go to Beijing “strictly in my official capacity as DoE Secretary,” upon the “gracious invitation” of Ambassador Zhao Jianhua.
He said the official meeting with the Chinese energy ministry was meant to “enhance energy cooperation between our two countries.”
“The purpose of the meeting is exclusively to improve our overall energy development efforts, gain knowledge from their best practices, and hopefully attract investments in our local energy projects,” Cusi said.
“This meeting is a clear indication that President Duterte’s state visit to China late last year was indeed successful, and is now yielding tangible benefits for our country,” he added.
The Beijing visit comes as President Duterte expressed his intention to pivot the country’s foreign policy towards China and Russia, veering away from longtime ally, the United States. Duterte had expressed openness to joint economic cooperation with China in the disputed South China Sea. RAM