(Eagle News)– Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Perfecto Yasay said on Wednesday (September 14) that he is prepared to explain to United States (US) Secretary of State John Kerry the statement of President Rodrigo Duterte regarding the pullout of US Special Forces from Mindanao.
“I’m not sugarcoating it at all… You cannot dissociate, for instance, the fact that when he [Duterte] said that he wants the Americans out, you dissociate it from the fact that he said that he does not want these Americans to be harmed or be killed. This was the context of President Duterte’s statement,” Yasay said in an interview on Wednesday (September 14).
“If Secretary of State John Kerry will ask me these questions, I will say the very things to him, and he will understand that. Alam niya naman na walang pagbabago ang policy,” he added.
Yasay left on Tuesday midnight for California, and is expected to proceed to New York to attend the 71st United Nations General Assembly.
Yasay will also speak before the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington D. C.
It was not confirmed if Yasay has an appointment with Kerry.
Duterte on Monday said in his speech that US troops should leave Mindanao and he will review the foreign policy of the country.
A day after, Duterte announced that the Philippines will not participate in joint patrols in the West Philippine Sea.
