Duterte not ”closing doors” to visit US: Romualdez

July 16, 2019

The Philippines’ ambassador to the United States said President Rodrigo Duterte is not “closing doors” to visit the US.

In a chance interview with Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez in Makati City on Tuesday, he reiterated that the president is still open in visiting the US, the country’s longtime ally.

“Actually in the last time we spoke to him, he said that he is okay and he does not close the door on that,” Romualdez told reporters.

He said maybe Duterte is just waiting for the right timing to go there and it’s really true that he prefers not to travel to a far country.

“I think to him, it’s also a question of the timing. As you know, it’s really true (that) he prefers not to travel really far away so it’s really dependent on the timing,” he said.

Romualdez said Duterte may still meet US President Donald Trump during Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Chile on November if he will decide to go.

In an interview with Romualdez last December 2018, he told The Daily Manila Shimbun Duterte is just waiting for a more “meaningful” trip and may likely go to US by the end of 2019. Ella Dionisio/DMS