Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr said United States President Donald Trump “really wants” Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-US Summit in Las Vegas on March 14.
Locsin tweeted on Tuesday that Trump has invited Duterte many times before.
“Before there could be an invitation, there had to be an ASEAN consensus (unanimous vote) to hold an ASEAN-US Summit which happened in Nha Trang three days ago and conveyed to the White House,” he said.
“Sadly for him Trump really wants Duterte to be there. He’s invited him again and again.,” he added.
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Trump ‘really wants’ Duterte in ASEAN-US Summit- Locsin
The Palace said, “The invitation was first conveyed during the Asean-US meeting at the ASEAN Summit and related summits in Bangkok last November. The United States then reiterated its invitation through a letter dated Jan. 9, 2020.”
The Malacañang Palace also released a copy of Trump’s invitation letter to the ASEAN leaders dated November 1. It was given during last year’s ASEAN summit in Bangkok.
Trump first invited Duterte to visit the United States in April 2017. However, the Palace spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Duterte would formally decline the invitation, following the US passage of its 2020 budget that includes a provision banning Filipino officials involved in De Lima’s detention.
In return, Duterte banned the three US senators who wrote the provision from entering the Philippines.
He also wanted to implement a visa requirement on American citizens should the United States prevent any Filipino official connected with De Lima’s detention from entering the US.