MALACAÑANG shrugged off Tuesday the criticisms hurdled against President Rodrigo Duterte for not participating in his supposed first gala dinner and traditional family photo with world leaders at the Association of Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Lima, Peru.
Communications Assistant Secretary for Operations and Special Concerns Marie Banaag said the President’s absence at the said Apec socials should not be a “barometer” to measure the success of his participation.
“We respect the opinion of former President [Fidel] Ramos about President Duterte skipping the picture taking and the gala dinner. However, the non-attendance of the President to the gala dinner and the picture taking should not be a barometer to measure whether the participation of the Philippines is successful or not,” Banaad told reporters.
Banaag was referring to Ramos’ statement that Duterte could have disappointed the host country for not attending the two events.
Ramos also slammed Duterte for making “jet lag” as an excuse to skip the Apec events.
“As a president, it is his duty to be there at all times even though you are not feeling well. What sickness did the president have? Headache? They have a doctor in the delegation. Loose bowel movement? That’s so easy. Have a Cabinet member bring a diaper,” Ramos said in a press conference on Monday.
“That is not enough to prevent you from having even just a group photo with the leaders. Never mind the dinner. Just have a liquid diet, eat soup. But after the group photo, where is the Philippines? Nowhere,” he added.
Banaag, however, said the President has been successful in his first participation in the Apec summit.
“We’d like to be grateful to the President and to all who accompanied the President in the Apec summit in Peru, which yielded positive results,” she said. (Sunnex)
