Duterte arrives in PHL from India trip

President Rodrigo Duterte is back in the Philippines after spending at least two days in India where he raised security concerns in the region and received investment pledges.

Duterte landed in Davao City early Saturday morning after attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-India Commemorative Summit and the host country’s Republic Day.

Trade Secretary Ramon earlier said Indian firms committed least $1.25 billion in investments in the fields of pharmaceutics, information technology, energy, tourism, medical wellness and business processing management expected to generate thousands of jobs.

Lopez said DTI received seven letters of intent, while two memoranda of understanding on investments were signed between the two countries.

He added that the government really wanted to prioritize pharmaceutics, following the President’s intention to ensure that the “Filipinos will have better, easier access to affordable quality drugs.” Duterte also raised this point during his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit last November.

Security, drugs

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque also revealed that during the bilateral meeting at Hyderabad House, the Philippines committed to purchase Indian military hardware.

“The Prime Minister actually said that they have expertise in ships and other military hardware. President Duterte just manifested in the same way that he has decided to purchase weapons from China and Russia that he will also consider purchasing Indian weapons,” he said at a briefing in India.

Roque also said that Modi “responded positively” on the Philippines’ war on drugs after Duterte’s explanation during their bilateral talks.

The President, moreover, pushed for regional and multilateral cooperation to address terrorist financing to prevent violent extremism at the ASEAN-India plenary, the spokesperson said in an audio briefer sent to reporters. — DVM, GMA News