President Rodrigo Duterte crooned a hit Filipino love song at a dinner in Manila for leaders from across Asia, explaining later that it was “on the orders of Donald Trump”.
The US president and Duterte were among 19 leaders at a gala in the Philippines capital on Sunday before the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit. At one point Duterte took the microphone to sing Ikaw (You), in a duet with local pop diva Pilita Corrales.
One of the song’s verses, translated from Filipino, begins: “You are the light in my world, a half of this heart of mine.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, I sang uninvited, upon the orders of the commander-in-chief of the United States,” Duterte said later, according to the ABS-CBN news channel.
#PresidentDuterte sings #Ikaw with #PilitaCorales, upon request of @realDonaldTrump. #Asean2017 pic.twitter.com/VjGCVeOeqG
— Karen Jimeno (@AttyKarenJimeno) November 12, 2017
Duterte, who is sometimes described as the “Trump of the East” because of his brash style, was due to meet the US president on the sidelines of the summit on Monday.
The US and its former colony, the Philippines, have been strategic allies since the second world war. But their relations have been strained by anti-US outbursts from Duterte and his enthusiasm for better ties with Russia and China.
Q&AWhy is Duterte's war on drugs controversial?
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The war on drugs waged by Rodrigo Duterte is controversial because of its exceptionally high death toll, concerns that innocent people have been killed and a sense that the president and authorities are acting with impunity.
According to the latest government statistics, 3,967 “drug personalities” died in anti-drug operations between July 2016 and 25 October 2017. Another 2,290 people were murdered in drug-related crimes, while thousands of other deaths remain unsolved, according to government data.
Duterte won last year’s presidential elections after promising to eradicate illegal drugs with an unprecedented crackdown that would lead to up to 100,000 people being killed.
Critics at home and abroad say he is orchestrating a campaign of extrajudicial mass murder, carried out by corrupt police and hired vigilantes.
He at times denies inciting police or others to kill, but also consistently generates headlines for his abusive language and incendiary comments defending the drug war.
More than 3,900 Filipinos have been killed in a war on drugs that Duterte declared when he took office last year. His government says the police act in self-defence, but critics say executions are taking place with no accountability.
Duterte said last week he would tell the US president to “lay off” if he raised the issue of human rights when they met.
But Trump, who has been criticised at home for neglecting rights issues in dealings abroad, praised Duterte in May for doing an “unbelievable job on the drug problem”.
Trump and leaders of the 10-member Asean, plus China, Russia, Japan, Canada, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand, were entertained by singers and dancers at the dinner.
Each sported a cream-coloured barong, a traditional Philippines shirt made of fibre from the pineapple plant, hand-embroidered and worn untucked.
They were served a four-course Filipino-Asian fusion meal curated and prepared by Jessie Sincioco, the chef who also designed the menu for Pope Francis when he visited the Philippines in 2015.
