24 Oras May 2 2017 Latest News
US President Donald Trump still believes President Rodrigo Duterte is doing a good job in his war on drugs despite criticisms that have come his way after he invited his Filipino counterpart to the White House, Malacañang said on Tuesday.
Human rights advocates have scored Trump for inviting Duterte, who has been blamed for the alleged extrajudicial killings of thousands of drug personalities since he came to power in the middle of last year. Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella claimed that Trump praised Duterte’s work in a phone call over the week despite the criticisms over the drug war.
“Well, according to the conversation, the President of the United States has already acknowledged the fact that the President is doing a great job considering the weight and the enormity of the conditions in the Philippines,” Abella said at a briefing in Malacañang. “So I’m sure he’s aware of all these considerations.
However, from his point of view, it seems like the President of the Philippines is doing a sensible job,” he added. The White House earlier defended Trump’s invite to Duterte as something to do with a pressing issue over North Korea. Singapore and Thailand prime ministers also received the same invite. While Abella said that the invite was “a sign of openness and understanding” between the two leaders, he reiterated that Duterte was yet to accept the invitation.
“There was no direct acceptance of the invitation. It was acknowledged but there was no direct response to go… He didn’t say yes, he didn’t say no. He just… You know, it was a part of the conversation but there was no commitment, there was no promise to go at a specific date,” he said.
Duterte on Monday said that Trump told him that he would want to make friends with the Philippine leader.
The relationship between the US and the Philippines was strained during the administration of former US President Barack Obama who criticized Duterte’s war on drugs. But Duterte made it clear that he was yet to make up his mind on going to the US, as he had forthcoming trips to Russia and Israel.
US President Donald Trump still believes President Rodrigo Duterte is doing a good job in his war on drugs despite criticisms that have come his way after he invited his Filipino counterpart to the White House, Malacañang said on Tuesday.
Human rights advocates have scored Trump for inviting Duterte, who has been blamed for the alleged extrajudicial killings of thousands of drug personalities since he came to power in the middle of last year. Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella claimed that Trump praised Duterte’s work in a phone call over the week despite the criticisms over the drug war.
“Well, according to the conversation, the President of the United States has already acknowledged the fact that the President is doing a great job considering the weight and the enormity of the conditions in the Philippines,” Abella said at a briefing in Malacañang. “So I’m sure he’s aware of all these considerations.
However, from his point of view, it seems like the President of the Philippines is doing a sensible job,” he added. The White House earlier defended Trump’s invite to Duterte as something to do with a pressing issue over North Korea. Singapore and Thailand prime ministers also received the same invite. While Abella said that the invite was “a sign of openness and understanding” between the two leaders, he reiterated that Duterte was yet to accept the invitation.
“There was no direct acceptance of the invitation. It was acknowledged but there was no direct response to go… He didn’t say yes, he didn’t say no. He just… You know, it was a part of the conversation but there was no commitment, there was no promise to go at a specific date,” he said.
Duterte on Monday said that Trump told him that he would want to make friends with the Philippine leader.
The relationship between the US and the Philippines was strained during the administration of former US President Barack Obama who criticized Duterte’s war on drugs. But Duterte made it clear that he was yet to make up his mind on going to the US, as he had forthcoming trips to Russia and Israel.
