Duterte’s international debut ‘very’ successful —Yasay

President Duterte's participation in the ASEAN meetings in Laos during his debut trips abroad are "very, very" successful, Foreign Affairs secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr said on Thursday.

"We were able to express and articulate the concerns that we wanted to raise, particularly our efforts in our fight against illicit and illegal drugs," Yasay said in a report by Joseph Morong on Unang Balita on Friday.

Also, Yasay said that President Duterte was able to discuss with ASEAN leaders the "steps we have taken consistent with the [Philippine] Constitution, the rule of law, and [efforts] in upholding human rights."

But reports from wire agencies branded Duterte's statements on the US human-rights records during the East-Asian summit as "controversial."

Duterte cited the massacre by American soldiers of members of Moro communities in Mindanao a century ago.

An excerpt of Duterte's statement flashed on Unang Balita reads: "Let me tell you about human rights. This is (photo) of my ancestors being killed. So, why now we are talking about human rights? We have to talk of the full spectrum of human rights."

Without elaborating, Yasay confirmed that Obama was in the meeting where Duterte made his "controversial" statements against the US.

Citing a "reliable source" from GMA News, Morong said that before leaving the meeting room, Obama made a round to shake hands with the leaders, except Duterte.

However, Yasay insisted that Duterte and Obama happened to be in different directions during the offer of handshakes by the US president. — LBG, GMA News