by Ana Rufa Padua & Therese Catapang

President Rodrigo Duterte failed to mention details of his phone call with Russian Vladimir Putin in his “Talk to the People” on April 15 as announced by the Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque earlier on the same day. 

During his talk, Duterte only emphasized how he has the ability to use the police force to take over hotel operations and gave numerous updates about tourism, particularly on airport rehabilitations, and some about healthcare concerns.

The telesummit that occurred on April 13 lasted for 30 minutes, in which Duterte and Vladimir Putin mainly discussed strengthening the efforts to battle against COVID-19.

According to a report by the Presidential Communications Operations Office, the two presidents talked about “the importance of ramping up global vaccine production and supply.” In addition, the Philippines has ordered a total of 20 million doses of Sputnik V from Russia.

Duterte and Putin also discussed the defense and security cooperation between both countries, while Putin stresses the possibility of future cooperations on  “field of trade and investments, agriculture and energy development.”

As the telesummit came to an end, President Duterte invited Putin to visit the Philippines once the circumstances allowed.

Due to the insufficient information revealed by the Palace, the public are still expecting updates and transparency regarding the details of the phone call.

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References:

Aguilar, K. (2021, April 15). Palace: Duterte to address nation this Thursday. INQUIRER.Net. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1419418/palace-duterte-to-address-nation-this-thursday

Presidential Communications Operations Office. (2021, April 13). Philippines, Russia enhance ties to address COVID-19 pandemic – Presidential Communications Operations Office. https://pcoo.gov.ph/news_releases/philippines-russia-enhance-ties-to-address-covid-19-pandemic/

RTVMalacanang. (2021a, April 15). Meeting on COVID-19 Concerns and Talk to the People on COVID-19 4/15/2021 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFRoQ7rlxi8

RTVMalacanang. (2021b, April 15). Press Briefing by Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, Jr. 4/15/2021 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWS-ZiWj4qA