VIENTIANE—President Rodrigo Duterte’s first appearance in an international summit was “brilliant” despite criticisms of his “colorful” language and awkward moments on the world stage, according to Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr.
Yasay made the assessment in Jakarta after the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit at Vientiane, which landed him at the international headlines because of foul language he used before he left the Philippines earlier this week.
“He was brilliant and superb, and on a scale of 1 to 10… I give him a high score of 8.5.” Yasay said, citing remarks of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
“They were impressed with his performance, what he said, his insights and diplomatic decorum, and his ability to understand what was happening around the world,” he added.
Duterte himself thought more than well of his first international appearance as the Philippines’ head of state.
“Perfect,” Duterte said, when asked how he would describe the trip shortly before he accepted chairmanship of Asean next year.
When asked about his physical condition, Duterte did not lose his temper and simply said “good.”
Meanwhile, Yasay confirmed that Duterte made an intervention statement during the Asean-East Asian summit which was “preceded by an impromptu speech on what he felt were unfair criticisms, especially with respect to violation of human rights.”
Yasay said that Duterte was able to express and articulate the concerns we wanted to raise.
“We have taken a consistent position with the Constitution, rule of law and upholding human rights and the recognition of due process in so far as the prosecution, suppression and rehabilitation of those convened,” he said.