The Department of Foreign Affairs yesterday confirmed that President Duterte will no longer pursue his trip to Fujian province in China next week to visit the college named after his late mother Soledad.
DFA Assistant Secretary Meynardo Montealegre said Duterte was supposed to visit Fuzhou in Fujian province after his commitments in Beijing.
However, Montealegre said the trip to Fuzhou was not in the President’s current schedule.
“Not in the schedule right now. It’s postponed to a more appropriate time,” Montealegre said during the pre-departure briefing for Duterte’s fifth visit to China.
Chief of Presidential Protocol and Presidential Assistant on Foreign Affairs Robert Borje explained that the decision to postpone the trip to Fuzhou was logistical in nature.
“Sometimes the window shortens for reasons that are maybe logistical in nature, sometimes it’s substantive, sometimes it’s also due to domestic issues,” he said.
“But for this particular visit, there was a plan and then the recommendation now is to move it at a later date because it’s more appropriate to be done at a later date and not at this particular time,” he added.
“As of this time, it’s really more logistical,” he continued.
Duterte is set to arrive in Beijing on Aug. 28. He will hold his eighth bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping the following day.
The President will attend a business forum on Aug. 30 courtesy of the Department of Trade and Industry and grace the opening ceremony of the FIBA World Cup the same day.
On Aug. 31, Duterte will fly to Guangzhou where Chinese President Wang Qishan will pay a courtesy call on the Chief Executive.
After that, they will proceed to watch the basketball game between Gilas Pilipinas and Italy in the FIBA World Cup. (Argyll Geducos)
