Malacañang announced on Monday that President Rodrigo Duterte will participate in the virtual 36th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit which will be held on Friday, June 26.
Palace spokesman Harry Roque said to expect that the President will be "busy" for the summit that will be held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Ito po ay talagang a big event for all the countries of ASEAN, at magaganap po ito itong linggong ito. So busy po si Presidente sa ASEAN Summit," Roque said.
(This is a big event for all countries of ASEAN this week. The President will be busy for the ASEAN Summit.)
The 36th ASEAN Summit was originally scheduled on June 27-28 in Vietnam from June 27 to June 28 but was postponed due to the pandemic.
Last April, Southeast Asian leaders held a special online summit to discuss the region's response to the pandemic, where Duterte said all countries should be given fair and easy access to potential coronavirus treatments and vaccines.