Duterte’s US visit to wait until after the midterm elections

By Roy Mabasa

President Rodrigo Duterte’s visit to the United States may have to wait until after the midterm polls, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said on Friday.

Locsin said the President, who has been repeatedly invited to visit the US is “aware” of it.

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and United States Secretary of State Michael Pompeo pose for posterity during their meeting at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City on February 28, 2019. (SIMEON CELI JR. /PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)

“He has a very strong affection for President Trump. The exact details, the arrangements that will be made, the specific date have to wait for the end of elections. That’s important,” Locsin told reporters at the joint press conference with visiting US State Secretary Michael Pompeo.

No less than President Trump has personally extended the invitation to Duterte to visit the United States during his participation at the 50thASEAN Summit held in Manila in November 2017.

Duterte earlier said that he would only go to the US and accept the invitation of President Trump once the historic Balangiga bells are returned to the Philippines.

In November, the three bells were officially returned to the country in full military ceremony. The three bells are now on display in Balangiga town’s church in Eastern Samar.