Conversation with US President-Elect Donald Trump

The following is the statement of the President after his conversation with United States President-Elect Donald Trump on 2 December 2016.

MESSAGE OF PRESIDENT RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE

AFTER HIS CONVERSATION WITH U.S.A. PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP

Legaspi Suites, Rizal, Davao City

December 2, 2016

  The President-elect Trump wishes to extend his warmest regards to the Filipino people. And in just a few minutes, we were talking a lot of things. He was quite sensitive also to our worry about drugs.

And he wishes me well to—in my campaign and he said that—well, we are doing it as a sovereign nation, the right way. And he wishes us well. And I said that, well, we assured him of our ties with America.

I appreciate the response that I got from President-elect Trump, and I would like to wish him success. And he has invited me to visit New York and Washington DC, he said that if I’m around, he wants to be notified of my presence and maybe—

And I mentioned to him about the ASEAN Summit next year and he said that he will try his best to be here. He wants to attend the Summit and that would be great for our country.

I could sense a good rapport, an animated President-elect Trump. And he was wishing me success in my campaign against the drug problem.

He understood the way we are handling it, and I said that there’s nothing wrong in protecting a country. It was a bit very encouraging in the sense that I supposed that what he really wanted to say was that, we would be the last to interfere in the affairs of your own country. ●