MANILA: UN chief joining Trump in Clark

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MANILA, Philippines — United States President Donald Trump and United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres are expected to join 20 other leaders during the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and related meetings on Nov. 13 to 15, organizers said yesterday.

President Duterte and Trump are expected to have a bilateral meeting during the ASEAN event, National Organizing Committee director for operations Marciano Paynor Jr. said yesterday. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is also expected to attend the event.

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Ambassador to the US Babe Romualdez is optimistic about the outcome of the bilateral meeting between Duterte and Trump, despite the Philippine leader’s angrily questioning what he considered US meddling in local affairs, especially during the previous Obama administration.

“The Trump-Duterte (meeting) will boost (relations) because Duterte did not like Obama,” Romualdez told The STAR when asked how important is the US president’s visit to the Philippines in view of the President’s foreign policy shift to China.

Trump’s voicing support for Duterte’s anti drug campaign and his administration had elated the Philippine leader.

Special envoy to the European Union and former Senate president Edgardo Angara earlier said European Council president Donald Tusk would also be coming to Manila for the ASEAN summit next month.

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Paynor said security would be tight in Metro Manila, Bulacan and Pampanga, especially in and around Clark where the heads of state and their delegations were expected to land.

“So, thus far, I can say that we are more or less prepared and we are ready to accept and meet up all of the various heads of government, heads of state who are coming here,” Paynor said.

“Thus far, we have not had any indication of anyone not coming. As long as they have not indicated that they are not coming, we assume that they are,” he added.

Duterte, also concurrent chairman of the ASEAN, will have the head of Timor Leste as guest for the event.

“We will have one guest of chair and that’s Timor Leste. So that’s 10 ASEAN member-states, eight members of the East Asia Summit, and two others who are celebrating the 40th anniversary of ASEAN collaboration and that is ASEAN-EU and ASEAN-Canada,” he said.

“So both the president of the economic community, plus the premier-prime minister of Canada are also expected to arrive here,” he added.

“Well, pretty much everything is set. Most of all, our security elements are really on their toes because that is the one area that we cannot really prepare for 100 percent. So we keep on trying,” Paynor said.

Bilateral meetings

Paynor revealed that many heads of state have asked for bilateral meetings with Duterte but only two so far would be accommodated.

“In the case of the President, I do know that there are already two bilateral meetings within the meeting proper itself. Unfortunately, I cannot divulge this because until there is confirmation from both sides, we cannot say,” he said.

As for the other meetings, Paynor said these are put in abeyance as Duterte would be busy as chairman of the ASEAN.

“Primarily, because the President is chair and as chair he cannot leave the meeting. Many of the bilateral meetings are held between coffee break, during coffee breaks, before the actual meetings or after the whole meeting process,” he said.

Paynor said the preparatory meetings would be held in Clark, referring to Committee of Permanent Representatives and the Senior Officials Meeting, the Senior Economic Officials Meeting and the meeting for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

To prevent a traffic nightmare, Paynor said the leaders would be flying in and out of the International Airport in Clark.

Citing the monstrous traffic in Metro Manila during the APEC meetings in 2015, Paynor said the President has ordered all flights to come from Clark.

“All arrivals and departures in principle will be at Clark Airport. This is on the directive of the President that no commercial traffic must be effected at the Manila International Airport,” he said.

Paynor noted that close to 450 flights were canceled and another 200 were affected during the arrival and departure of delegates and guests in the 2015 APEC.

“The 200 were those flights coming in and then had to be put on hold because leaders’ aircraft were coming and therefore a quasi-emergency state was declared,” he said.

But some sources said the use of the Clark International Airport for the VIPs was prompted by the breakdown in the landing system at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City.

Courtesy: The Philippine Star | By Christina Mendez  | Updated October 25, 2017 – 

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