Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 30) — Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano confirms President Rodrigo Duterte’s trip to Japan has been moved to a later date due to the ongoing armed conflict in the south.
“In light of recent developments in Marawi City and Mindanao, the President needs to personally oversee the situation to ensure the safety and security of our people,” Cayetano said in a press release late Wednesday night.
Duterte was supposed to visit Japan on June 5 and 6 for a speaking engagement with Asian business publication Nikkei.
He was also set to have bilateral talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
A report earlier by Nikkei had said the President was urged to defer his trip to Tokyo after the “intensifying situation” in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur.
Cayetano said he was thankful to the Japanese for understanding the situation in the Philippines.
“We are optimistic that once the security issues in Mindanao will have been settled, and the local rebellion in Mindanao fully addressed, the visit of President Duterte can be rescheduled,” he said.
In a May 31 statement, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said Japan and the Philippines have agreed that a visit to Japan could be set in the future.
“The Philippines highly values its close friendship and deep bilateral relations with Japan,” he said. “President Duture hopes to meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe whom he has fond admiration and respect (for) especially when the Japanese leader visited him in his hometown in Davao.”
Cayetano led the briefing of foreign diplomats on Wednesday regarding the security situation in Mindanao, particularly in Marawi.
The foreign affairs department assured diplomats there would be no human rights abuses under the martial law in the southern region.
“May I assure you that the president and the government remains steadfast in its commitment to uphold the Philippine Constitution and ensure that efforts to enforce peace and order are done with due regard to the loss and preservation of our people’s constitutional rights. In other words, no abuses,” Cayetano told fellow diplomats.
Duterte went to Japan in October 2016 for an official visit.
CNN Philippines’ Correspondent Yumi Lugod contributed to this report.
(Story updated 12:15 p.m. of May 31 to include statement of Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella.)
