Cayetano lingers in US, extends trip

Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano waves as he enters the UN headquarters in New York City. He’s still in the US.—MALACAÑANG PHOTO

Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano is in no hurry to return to the country extending his visit to the United States to a month.

Cayetano, whose mother is an American, has been in the United States for over three weeks now, shuttling between New York City, and Washington DC.

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson Robespierre Bolivar on Monday said that Cayetano still had “some events and work to attend to in New York.”

He said Cayetano would attend the annual meeting of the board of governors of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to take place from Oct. 13 to 15 in Washington DC.

“The Secretary will be part of the Philippine delegation to the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank in Washington DC this week,” Bolivar said.

Cayetano arrived in New York City a few days ahead of the Sept. 19 opening of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly, the biggest annual gathering of world leaders, which President Duterte skipped for the second time.

After delivering his speech on Sept. 23, Cayetano proceeded to an official visit in the capital, Washington DC, where he met with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Sept. 27.

He told Tillerson that the Philippines welcomed further US support to the antidrugs campaign but did not commit to the US government’s call to allow an impartial investigation into the thousands of drug campaign-related extrajudicial killings.

His visit did not include a courtesy call on President Trump. The White House announced on Sept. 29 that Trump will attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-related meetings hosted by Manila in November.

Cayetano flew back to New York City, and met UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Sept. 29.