By HANNAH L. TORREGOZA
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SENATE President Tito Sotto disclosed on Wednesday that President Donald Trump does not agree with the US State Department’s move to invalidate Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa’s US visa.
Sotto said President Duterte had just had a conversation with Trump when the Chief Executive told him this.
“I don’t know if I’m at liberty to tell you this, bahala na, it’s the truth naman. When I met with the President in the clubhouse a few weeks ago, Sen. Bong Go was there, there were other executives there. He just got off the phone with President Trump,” Sotto said at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay webinar.
“Meron ginamit na word si President Trump na those…people from the State Department should not have done that in the first place. President Trump himself did not agree with what happened,” he said.
Dela Rosa had earlier said that the US Embassy called him to inform him he can now renew his US visa which was cancelled last year.
According to Dela Rosa, he received the advisory after Duterte talked with Trump regarding the government’s COVID-19 response efforts last April.
Sotto, however, clarified that during the meeting with Duterte, heads of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) were also present as they also discussed the government’s efforts on the COVID-19 response.
Asked if he believes the development is connected to the government’s war on drugs or on the Philippines-US Visiting Forces Agreement, Sotto said he is unsure if it was connected.
“Ewan ko kung konektado…may pinagusapan pa silang ibang bagay,” he pointed out.
