The ASEAN can do really do wonders.
After his first summit in Vientiane, Laos, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said, “I am a peaceful man now after the ASEAN.”
In a report by CNN Philippines, the reformed Duterte said, “I don’t want to pick a fight with any nation. I only want to be at peace with everybody. Doing business with everybody.”
And to that, we say, “Bravo!”
This is a complete turn-around from his feisty speech before he left for the ASEAN summit on Sep 5, Mon, where he cursed in response to a question about meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama.
The next day after Duterte’s rant, Obama cancelled his meeting with ‘The Punisher.’
Despite Obama brushing off Duterte’s comments, Duterte ended up not sitting with Obama and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon at the ASEAN Summit dinner on Sep 7, Wed, contrary to Malacañang Palace’s earlier press release.
According to the same CNN report, Duterte “was quite comfortable with the situation now after talking to everybody.”
The president was also able to push through with his message about the Philippines being “open for business.”
Here’s to a more peaceful — and hopefully more diplomatic — President Duterte! He could definitely use it since he’s now the ASEAN chair for 2017.
