Duterte disagrees with Philippine vote on Israel action in Gaza —Roque

President Rodrigo Duterte disagreed with the Philippine vote  favoring a United Nations  probe on Israel’s military action in Palestine-occupied Gaza strip, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Thursday.

Roque made the admission a day after President Duterte said the Philippine delegation made that vote without consultation with the home government.

“If the question is, did the President disagree with the vote? Yes, he did. Can it be taken back? Apparently not,” Roque said.

“But the President has made sure that there will be a mechanism and procedure as far as voting in crucial issues where the views of the chief architect of foreign policy should at least be consulted,” he added.

Prior to the President saying he was not consulted on the vote for UN probe, Roque said last June 3 that the President was not a micro-manager and leaves such decision to the Philippine delegation.

At that time, Israel's Foreign Ministry summoned Philippine Ambassador to Israel Macairog Alberto “for clarification discussion at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs following the Philippines’ vote at the Human Rights Council in favor of the establishment of an investigative committee against Israel over events surrounding Operation Guardian of the Walls.”

But on Thursday, Roque said such decision was just “normally left” to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

“The President has expressed his concerns on the mechanism and procedure that led to our vote in the UN Human Rights Council. Of course, this is on a resolution calling for inquiry into the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory,” Roque said.

“Appropriate guidance has been given to relevant senior officials in government to ensure that Philippine interests are protected and upheld in multilateral fora,” he added.

Roque then said that the Philippines value and will continue to maintain excellent relations with Israel and all partners in the international community “in the pursuit of common goals grounded on shared values and interest.”—AOL, GMA News