Ramos chides ‘disappointing’ Duterte for skipping Apec socials

Former President Fidel Ramos on Monday expressed his disappointment with President Rodrigo Duterte for skipping the gala dinner and the traditional family photo of world leaders during his first appearance at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Lima, Peru.

In a press conference in his office in Makati City, Ramos said “not feeling well” was not an excuse to be absent from the Apec socials.

“As a President, it is his duty to be there at all times kahit na masama ang pakiramdam. Ano ba yung pakiramdam na masama ng pangulo? Masakit ang ulo? Merong doctor na kasama sa delegasyon palagi. Meron ding doctor dun sa Lima,” Ramos said.

“Kung sakali masakit ang buto-buto at hindi makabangon, meron pa rin doctor at mga gamot gamot na very handy at pwedeng ibulsa ng isang Cabinet member na laging nakikita natin sa TV. Ano pa? Masakit ang likod? Magsuot ng black belt. I wear one when I play golf,” he added.

Duterte said “jet lag” forced him to skip the said Apec events, adding that he was still feeling “lightheaded” because the scheduled activities coincided with his sleeping times back home.

But Ramos said Duterte should have at least posed in the traditional group photo and represented millions of Filipinos in the world stage.

“That is not enough to prevent you from having even just a group photo with the leaders. Never mind the dinner, kumain ka na lang ng sopas, pero pagkatapos ng group photo nasaan ang Pilipinas? Wala. As President you should be in the forefront and look as big as these guys. With 101.5 million people, patago-tago ka sa likod, masakit ang likod ko? O baka meron namang loose bowel movement. Nako napakadali niyan, ‘yung isang Cabinet member magdala ka ng diaper,” he said.

“In the part of the host, Peruvian President Pablo Kuczynski, he must have been very disappointed … I was disappointed. I don’t know if you were, but you should have been,” Ramos added.

Ramos added that the activities could have been a good opportunity for Duterte and outgoing US President Barack Obama to discuss foreign policy and other concerns relating to the incoming administration of Donald Trump./rga