The Philippines highly successful hosting of the recently concluded 31st Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Summits, really made news
even in the other side of the globe.
And it can
be helped if the success made President Rodrigo Roa Duterte more known in the
different parts of the world. And this time in a good way, unlike the constant
propaganda thrown at him by his political enemies as if there is no law
existing in the country.
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| Pres. Duterte during the opening session of the ASEAN and EU summit(photo by reuters) |
One of the many different accolade being given to Duterte comes
from far away India, where one of its media outfits- The Hindu made used of its
media space.
Mr. Kallol Bhattacherjee, in his article titled “ Duterte
wins the ASEAN battle for headlines” of the Hindu website shares his good
impressions of the Philippine president.
Below is the text of the article:
It appears that in terms of creating
controversies, Mr. Duterte is unmatched in South or Southeast Asia.
In the season of international
summits and global leaders, the focus of all the newspapers in Manila appear to
be on the local flamboyant leader, Rodrigo ‘Rody’ Duterte and the U.S.
President Donald Trump. But when it comes to hitting headlines with sound
bytes, Mr. Duterte is more effective than Mr. Trump.
Mr. Duterte follows in the
footsteps of his famous predecessors like Joseph Estrada, Gloria Macapagal
Aroyo, and the authoritarian and stylish Marcos couple — Ferdinand and Imelda.
From the first moments of the gala dinner of November 12, when the 19
participating leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi included, appeared in the
‘family photograph’ of ASEAN and
East Asia Summit, in Barong Tagalog, the traditional white shirt of the oceanic
country, Mr. Duterte has dominated the news pages.
To begin with, even Mr. Trump was impressed by the casual machismo of
Mr. Duterte who often attended the official meetings in informal attire. In the
gala dinner, the U.S. leader urged Mr. Duterte to sing and the latter sang for
couple of minutes. Next morning, the newspapers carried on the front page: ‘You
are the light, Rody croons at Trump’s request.’
“Ladies and gentlemen, I sang
uninvited a duet with Ms. Pilita Corrales upon the orders of the
commander-in-chief of the United States,” Mr. Duterte said, laying the
responsibility of his performance with the U.S. leader.
However, it appears that in terms
of creating controversies, Mr. Duterte is unmatched in South or Southeast Asia
as he continues to quip or comment in his usual provocative manner. Mr.
Duterte, whose war on drugs has been criticised for denying due process of law
to those accused of narcotics smuggling, has now proposed to host a global
human rights summit in Manila.
The Philippines leader
has championed the ASEAN consensus on migrant workers that is likely to help
migrant workers from Philippines, Thailand and other countries who are often
ill treated and denied human rights
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