Palace: Celebrities came to Japan on their own during Duterte trip

Malacañang on Wednesday declined to speculate on why some celebrities supportive of President Rodrigo Duterte flew to Japan where the chief executive is on a four-day working visit.

Photos circulating online showed  actors Philip Salvador, Bayani Agbayani, Rodjun Cruz, and singer Michael Pangilinan in Tokyo. They also posed for a photo doing Duterte’s signature fist bump gesture.

“From what I know, they came to Japan on their own accord,” presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a message to reporters.

Panelo, a member of the presidential delegation, then advised the media to ask the celebrities themselves about the purpose of their trip.

“Ask them why they are here. They are the credible source of your information. Mine will be speculative,” he said.

Cruz, Agbayani, and Salvador were among the celebrities present in the dinner hosted by Duterte and his common-law wife Honeylet Avanceña in Malacañang last May 7.

Apart from several Cabinet officials, Avanceña and her daughter Veronica also joined Duterte on his third visit to Japan since assuming office in 2016. —LBG, GMA News