Foreign Secretary Locsin named special envoy to ASEAN Leaders' summit this weekend

President Duterte to skip ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting; sends Secretary Locsin as special envoy

MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte designated Foreign Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. as Special Envoy to the ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting on Saturday, April 24, at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia.

In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs said the Philippines strongly supported the convening of the Meeting despite the lack of full attendance of all ASEAN Leaders.

“This special Leaders’ meeting will address urgent matters in the region, including recovery efforts, the situation in Myanmar, ASEAN community building efforts, external relations, and regional and international issues,” the DFA statement said.

President Duterte, through Secretary Locsin, will convey the country’s commitment to ASEAN’s collective efforts in addressing threats and challenges to peace and stability in the region. Secretary Locsin will also convey the Philippines’ strong support to the initiative of Brunei Darussalam and the Secretary-General of ASEAN to use their offices, in accordance with the ASEAN Charter, to visit Myanmar and spearhead ASEAN’s response to the crisis in Myanmar.

According to the statement, President Duterte opted to remain in the Philippines to attend to pressing domestic concerns in the light of the surge of COVID-19 cases.

The DFA statement added there were 116,434 active cases in the country with 9,227 new confirmed cases which added to the total of 962,307 cases by end of office hours yesterday. (Melo M. Acuña)

Foreign Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. (Photo from DFA Website)