Human rights issue not tackled during Duterte-Trump meeting —Palace

President Rodrigo Duterte and United States President Donald Trump skipped the human rights issue being linked to the Philippines' war on drugs during their bilateral meeting, Malacañang said Monday.

"The issue of human rights did not arise. It was not brought up. It was President Duterte who discussed drug menace in the Philippines," presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said.

He said Trump, who was in the Philippines for the ASEAN Summit, "appeared sympathetic and did not have any official position on the matter and was merely nodding his head, indicating that he understood the domestic problem that we faced on drugs."

The two leaders met for the first time in Vietnam, where they attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit.

In his opening statement earlier in the day, Trump noted his "great relationship" with Duterte and praised the Philippines' hosting of the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Summit.

Duterte had said he would discuss matters of mutual interest during his bilateral meeting with Trump. —KBK, GMA News