Duterte Wary of Long Flight to Peru for APEC Meeting

Manila, Philippines, 12 Safar 1438/11 November 2016  (MINA) — President Rodrigo Duterte remains undecided if he will attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting this year as it would require him to take a long flight to Lima, Peru.

“It’s a long way across the globe. It’s a long haul. And it will… kill you by the time you reach (destination),” Philstar quoted Duterte as saying in a press briefing after arriving from Malaysia on Friday.

Duterte has asked Peace Process Adviser Jesus Dureza and Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. to attend the APEC Summit for him instead.

Yasay, however, has told the president that he needs to be present at the summit, which will be attended by his counterparts from 20 other countries.

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The president added that if he could do away with it, he would rather not attend the meeting in Peru.

“I’d rather not go. I hate long hauls,” Duterte said. (T/R07/R01)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)

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