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Funnyman Duterte injects humor in asking media out at ASEAN summits


President Rodrigo Duterte will not let formalities at high-level talks keep him from injecting his own brand of humor.

During the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit and Related Summits, Duterte elicited laughter from fellow leaders and the delegates whenever he asked media to go out of the room.

The media were allowed to cover the opening statements of the leaders at summits, then asked to leave for the closed session.

Duterte chaired 11 summits during the two-day meeting.

At one point, he told the press that the leaders would have loved the media exposure because they are all politicians anyway, but protocol directed him to ask the media to go out anyway.

Below is a compilation of how Duterte asked reporters to leave the room for the closed session as taken from the official transcripts:

Day 1, November 13:
31st ASEAN Summit Plenary

May I ask the media to leave the room for us to discuss the matters which we would like to contain at this time among ourselves.

5th ASEAN-US Summit Commemoration and the 40th Anniversary of ASEAN-US Dialogue Relations

At this juncture, it signifies the end of our open session, and I would like to request media to leave us alone. [laughter]

You may leave the room.

20th ASEAN-China Summit

To interrupt you a little bit. As usual, after the open session, we require all our friends from the media to go out.

19th ASEAN-Republic of Korea Summit

And now we go to one of the most important agenda in this meeting is for me to respectfully, most respectfully request the media to disappear. [laughter]

20th ASEAN-Japan Summit

We will now move to the closed session. I'm sure the beautiful and beloved media guys would know what to do. [laughter]

Day 2, November 14:

40th ASEAN-Canada Commemorative Summit

It is said that there is always a time for everything under the sun. And I am addressing it to the media.

A time to join and a time to not join. [laughter] Can we have the room so that we can discuss…

40th ASEAN-EU Commemorative Summit

Now, the open session ends here and may I respectfully request our beloved media friends to --- I’m sorry, but if I had my way, I’d invite you to participate. But the problem is the working papers, and this [are] not my words, our open session ends here.

12th East Asia Summit

Before I continue, may I request… And I am really sorry but that’s the rule. It says here, it’s not mine. It’s a working paper.

Before I continue, may I request the media to leave the room? It’s not part of my drama. So you have to understand that.

I know that you like it here. I want you to participate. The problem is, the working papers of the Secretariat do not like you. [laughter]

It’s not us. We love exposures to media. We are almost all politicians here. But the Secretariat is stiff.


Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Summit

And I am not… this is not a joke. But some --- I know how it feels to be. There’s a note there. “Once…” ---

This is a working paper prepared by the secretariat. I have nothing to do it. But it says here, “Once the members of the media have left the room, the President will preside over the closed session.”  [laughter]

You might blame me for something which I did --- it’s not my idea. I don’t know which protocol is that.

May I now request, of course, the interventions in the closed session…


15th ASEAN-India Summit

It’s not mine. I’m not joking. It’s not mine. Once the members of the media have left the room, the President will preside over a closed session.

I would have wanted everybody just to listen to us. I don’t know how.


In a statement after he turned over the ASEAN chairmanship to Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Duterte expressed his gratitude to the press for covering the Philippines’ year-long hosting of the summits. 

“You have been [our] invaluable partners in raising ASEAN awareness to our peoples, particularly our hard work toward improving the lives of our peoples and in strengthening our ASEAN Community. I thank you for getting that message across to the public,” he said. —ALG, GMA News

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