Duterte opens 31 st ASEAN Summit, apologizes for tone of statements

November 13, 2017

President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday opened the 31 st Association of Southeast Asian Summit and apologized for the tone of his recent statements.

"Your Majesty, Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, I apologized for setting the tone of my statement in such a manner," Duterte said during the opening ceremony in Pasay City. "But I only want to emphasize  that our meetings for the next two days present an excellent opportunity for us to engage in  meaningful discussion on matters of regional and international importance."

Terrorism and violent extremism, piracy and illegal drug trade are one of the issues on the agenda of meetings.

"These and other issues are high on the agenda of our meetings along with the other non-traditional security issues that challenge the prosperity of our economies, the integrity of our institutions, and more importantly, the safety of people," he said.

He also announced the agreement of ASEAN members on the consensus on the protection and promotion of rights of migrant workers.

"I will be joining other ASEAN leaders tomorrow (Nov. 14) in signing this landmark document that would strengthen social protection, access to justice, humane and fair treatment, and access to health services for our people," he said.

Duterte said it has been a privilege for the Philippines to chair ASEAN during its "milestone year".

"It has been a pleasure to work with our ASEAN family and our dialogue partners in moving the ASEAN community forward in enhancing cooperation in various areas," he added.

At least 20 leaders are in Manila to attend this year's summit. Ella Dionisio/DMS