Duterte to Sit Beside Obama, UN Chief at ASEAN Gala Dinner

Manila, Philippines, 05 Dzulhijjah 1437/07 September 2016 (MINA) — President Rodrigo Duterte will be seated next to United States President Barack Obama at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Gala Dinner on Wednesday.

“Presidents Duterte and Obama will be seated next to each other, which expectedly, will focus all cameras on them to deliver to the world the encounter of the two,” the Star quoted Malacañang as saying in a statement.

This will be the first time that the two leaders will meet face to face. Duterte and Obama mutually agreed to move their scheduled bilateral meeting to a later date.

The White House initially announced that the meeting between the two leaders will be canceled following Duterte’s remarks against Obama.

Duterte said that he regrets his tirade against the leader of the most powerful nation which came out as a powerful attack.

The Philippine chief executive refused to bow down to the American leader upon being asked about his possible response if the issue of extrajudicial killings will be raised during their meeting.

United Nations Secretary Ban Ki Moon will also be seated on the other side of Duterte during the dinner.

Duterte earlier threatened to withdraw membership from the UN after two special rapporteurs urged the president and Filipino authorities to stop the killings of drug suspects in the country.

The president later on claimed that he was just joking when he threatened to pull out the Philippines from the UN. (T/R07/R01)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)