President Rodrigo Duterte also admires United States President Donald Trump, Malacañang said on Thursday after the latter expressed his “love” for the Filipino leader.
Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo said the two leaders shared “mutual admiration” because of their similar leadership style.
“I think he (President Duterte) loves him, too. If you recall, the style of the President was much earlier than Trump. Bago pa nagkaroon ng Trump, may Duterte na eh (Before Trump, there was Duterte),” Panelo told reporters.
“Siyempre ‘pag ganyang pareho ang style niyo, eh ‘di meron kayong mutual admiration (If you have the same style, of course, you will have mutual admiration),” he added.
In a tweet on Wednesday, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said Trump had told him that he “loves” Duterte, whom he called “Frank Sinatra.”
”I shook his hand, he looked straight at me and said, ‘Say hi to Frank Sinatra… You know who I mean?’ I remembered — Duterte joined Pilita Corales in [a] song at [the] Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). ‘I love that guy,’” Locsin shared on Twitter.
Duterte, chairman of the Asean 2017, sang during the gala dinner at the Mall of Asia SMX Convention Center in Pasay City, apparently at Trump’s request.
