President Rodrigo Duterte said Sunday he was “sure” Donald Trump would not raise human rights concerns when they meet in Manila, after the US President praised himself his drug war.
Trump is due to land in the Philippines on Sunday evening ahead of two days of summits.
According to Duterte, Trump had already given him “words of encouragement” during a brief encounter on the sidelines of another regional summit in Vietnam on Saturday.
“He said something about: ‘You know, you handle it very well’,” Duterte told reporters early Sunday morning after returning to Manila.
He said Trump was referring to the crackdown on drugs as well as a military campaign against Islamic State supporters in Marawi.
The pair are tentatively scheduled to hold one-on-one talks on Monday.
Duterte won elections last year after promising to eradicate illegal drugs in society.
Many Filipinos back Duterte, believing he is taking necessary measures to fight crime.
Duterte, 72, last year lashed out at then-US president Barack Obama for intervening in Philippine affairs.
Relations between the two nations then deteriorated, but ties began to improve when Trump told Duterte in a telephone call in April that he was doing a “great job” with his campaign against narcotics.(Agence France Presse)