Pinoys in Myanmar cheer Duterte on arrival at Nay Pyi Taw hotel

NAY PYI TAW, Myanmar — President Rodrigo Duterte arrived on Saturday evening to simple arrival honors at the Nay Pyit Taw International Airport in the capital of Myanmar. But he was greeted by a cheering crowd of Filipinos at the Horizon Lake View Resort.

Duterte’s plane landed at 6:10 p.m. (7:40 p.m. PHT). Of the passengers on the plane, Duterte embarked last at 6:20 p.m. (7:50 p.m. PHT).

On a short red carpet on the tarmac flanked by Burmese honor guards, Duterte was met by Philippine Ambassador to Burma Alex Chua and Myanmar officials wearing traditional garb.

Duterte immediately boarded a black sedan and in a convoy of at least 20 vehicles headed straight to the Horizon Lake View Resort, which was around 30 minutes away.

At the hotel, Filipinos, most of whom made a five-hour trip from Yangon and waited for two more hours, cheered as they watched a live feed of Duterte’s arrival at the airport.

Most Filipinos in Myanmar are based in Yangon, the former capital, and many of them immediately registered to participate in the meeting on learning of the president’s visit from the Philippine Embassy in Yangon.

READ: Filipinos in Myanmar ‘excited’ about Duterte state visit

The meeting with the Filipino community is the first activity scheduled in Duterte’s first official visit to n Myanmar – and the only activity scheduled on Sunday. /atm