Duterte not attending ASEAN summit on Myanmar – spokesman

April 22, 2021 - 3:34 PM
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President Rodrigo Roa Duterte walks past old photos of past presidents as he arrives for the meeting with the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) core members at the Malacañang Golf (Malago) Clubhouse in Malacañang Park, Manila on April 15, 2021. (Presidential photo/King Rodriguez)

MANILA — Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte will not attend a summit of leaders of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries in Jakarta this weekend, his spokesman said on Thursday.

Duterte will be represented by the country’s foreign ministry and will not join because of the face-to-face requirements of the meeting, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in a regular news conference. He did not elaborate on the issues. —Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Martin Petty