This file photo taken in 2020 shows then-President Rodrigo Duterte with then-Taguig-Pateros Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano. (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — The Marcos administration should appoint former President Rodrigo Duterte as special envoy to China, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano said in an ambush interview on Monday.
Citing the former president’s “good standing” with the Chinese government, Cayetano pointed out that Duterte would be a good for the post.
“If ever we know someone who can go to the highest levels of the Chinese government that the Chinese government trusts and the Filipino trusts, [it is] President Duterte. But then we have to come out with a strategy that is both comprehensive and that will work in the short and long term,” Cayetano said.
Cayetano, who served as secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs chief under the Duterte administration, said that he “never” once saw Duterte compromise and sell out the Philippines despite “gaining the trust” of China.
“I have never seen President Duterte compromise and sell the Philippines. His eloquent mouth is different and he speaks differently, but he never sold out and he will never sell out the Philippines,” Cayetano said in Filipino.
Despite this, Cateyano stressed that Duterte should only be tapped during urgent and emergency negotiations as he might no longer have the stamina for the constant back-and-forth trips to Beijing.
Cayetano, who earlier questioned Sen. Risa Hontiveros’ resolution seeking to raise China’s aggressions in the West Philippine Sea before the United Nations General Assembly, likewise stated that he was “amenable to coming up with a strongly-worded measure that expresses the Senate’s outrage against Chinese incursions.”
But he pointed out that this should not be done in a breeze, stressing the need to explore many options before taking decisive action on the controversy.