Cayetano “not feeling well”, skips meetings with dialogue partners: spokesman

August 6, 2017

Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano has skipped all the meetings with dialogue partners on Sunday.

In a text message to reporters, Foreign Affairs spokesperson Robespierre Bolivar said Cayetano was not feeling well.

"He (Cayetano) was not feeling well since beginning of the week and then after yesterday he almost lost his voice," he said.

According to him, Cayetano was recuperating in preparation for chairing the 18th ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers' Meeting, 7th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting, and the 24th ASEAN Regional Forum on Monday.

As this year's chair of ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting, Cayetano was supposed to chair separate meetings of the ASEAN with the dialogue partners, such as Canada, Republic of Korea, Australia, Russia, China, New Zealand, India, United States, Japan and European Union at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.

Cayetano did not attend the 10th Lower Mekong Initiative Ministerial Meeting, 15th Southwest Pacific Dialogue Ministerial Meeting and the 10th Mekong-Japan Foreign Ministers' Meeting.

In all  activities on Sunday, Cayetano was represented either by Foreign Affairs Undersecretaries Manuel Teehankee or Enrique Manalo.

Bolivar said Cayetano would host the Gala Dinner on Sunday. Celerina Monte/DMS