Duterte to meet with Filipino supporters in Hong Kong this week

Duterte supporters pose in Central, Hong Kong on April 24, 2016, prior to the Philippines’ presidential election. Photo: Isaac Lawrence/AFP
Duterte supporters pose in Central, Hong Kong on April 24, 2016, prior to the Philippines’ presidential election. Photo: Isaac Lawrence/AFP

Controversial Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte will be meeting with members of the Hong Kong Filipino community later this week, a spokesperson for the Philippines government said today.

Acting Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Robespierre Bolivar told reporters that Duterte would be in Hong Kong from Thursday to Sunday to meet his supporters from the significant Filipino community in the city.

“As of March 2017, there were around 210,000 Filipinos in Hong Kong, many of whom work in the hotel and restaurant industry or in the households of Hong Kong residents,” Bolivar said. He added that the local Filipino community had been “instrumental” in promoting better trade relations between the Philippines and Hong Kong.

So far, no details on where and when Duterte will be meeting his supporters have been released.

The president’s visit is part of a three-stop trip, during which he will attend the World Economic Forum in Cambodia in his capacity as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), come to Hong Kong, then proceed to Beijing to participate in the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

During the run-up to the 2016 election, both Duterte’s son “Baste” and political opponent Mar Roxas both visited Hong Kong to court votes from the city’s sizeable overseas Filipino worker (OFW) community.

Despite courting international criticism for his “war on drugs”, which has killed roughly 7,000-8,000 people, Duterte’s approval rating was reported to be at 76 percent as of April. Many Filipinos both at home and abroad say his aggressive crackdown on narcotics is reducing the rampant corruption that existed before his term.



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