Philippine leader skips two meetings in Asean summit due to migraine
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Vientiane - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday skipped the meetings between South-East Asian leaders and their counterparts from the United States and India due to a migraine, his spokesman said.
The 71-year-old president has drawn a lot of attention at the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) summit after he warned US President Barack Obama and other leaders not to raise the issue of extra-judicial killings or else "son of a bitch, I will swear at you" before arriving in Vientiane.
"The president was not able to rest on the weekend, which is usually his rest day ... because he had to attend to the victims, the victims' families and the investigation" of the September 2 bombing in the southern city of Davao, presidential spokesman Martin Andanar said.
"And then he had to work here in Laos in bilateral meetings. I guess it's taken its toll on our president," he added.
Fourteen people were killed and more than 70 hurt in the bomb attack at a night market in Davao City, where Duterte was mayor for more than 20 years.
Duterte was later able to attend the East Asia Summit and the closing ceremonies, where the Asean chairmanship was handed on to the Philippines.
- DPA
