US President Barack Obama said Thursday that the United States wants to partner with the Philippines in addressing narco-traffickers,
which is a serious problem not only in the Philippines
”We want to partner with the Philippines
on the particular issue of narco-traffickers, which is a serious problem in the
Philippines United States
and around the world,” Obama said in a press conference in Laos
"On that narrow issue, we do want to make sure the
partnership we have is consistent with international norms and rule of law. So,
we're not going to back off from our position that if we're working with a
country, whether it's on anti-terrorism, whether it's on going after drug
traffickers, as despicable as these networks may be, as much damage as they do,
it is important, from our perspective, to make sure that we do it the right way
because the consequences of when you do it the wrong way is innocent people get
hurt," the US leader added.
Obama said he shook hands with President Duterte before the
gala dinner Wednesday night at the ASEAN Summit.
"I did shake hands with President Duterte last night.
It was not a long interaction, and what I indicated to him is that my team
should be meeting with his and determine how we can move forward on a whole
range of issues," Obama said.
The US
Duterte made the comment in reaction to Obama’s promise to
raise the issue of extrajudicial killing of drugs suspects in the Philippines at their scheduled meeting in Laos
"As I said, when I was asked about this in China, I don't
take these comments personally because it seems as if it's a phrase he's used
repeatedly, including directed to the Pope and others. And so I think it seems
to be just a habit, a way of speaking for him," Obama said.
Last Tuesday, Malacañang spokesperson Ernesto Abella said
President Duterte has expressed regret for his remark against the US
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=921452
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