Palace: Asean Summit proved Duterte as ‘recognized leader’ internationally

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The recently concluded 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit in the Philippines has proven that President Rodrigo Duterte was a recognized leader in the international community.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque issued this statement as he said the summit was a success.

“It was a tremendous success. Of course, now that all the guests are gone, there is a sigh of relief that there was not one untoward incident,” Roque said in a Palace briefing Thursday.

He thanked Filipinos for their cooperation despite some inconveniences due to the summit.

“All that could have happened was one explosion even if no one was hurt for us to have a major disaster in our hands. But thanks to the cooperation of the Filipino people, we averted such incidents,” he said.

“Congratulations to the rest of the Filipino people. Siyempre po may mga naabala lalong-lalo na doon sa closure ng Edsa, pasensya na po kayo. Ang naging kapalit naman ay iyong paghanga ng buong daigdig sa kakayahan ng bansang Pilipinas,” he added.

(Of course there were those who were inconvenienced, especially due to the closure of Edsa, I apologize. What we got in exchange was the whole world’s admiration for the capability of the Philippines.)

Roque cited how regional and world leaders lauded the country’s hosting of the regional forum.

“The world community now recognizes not only the fact that the Philippine President is not just a President of the Philippines, a leader of Southeast Asia, but a recognized leader in the international community,” he said.

“And the fact that there was no untoward incident proves that the Philippines is safe to visit,” he added. /je