PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (AP) — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will cut short his participation in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Papua New Guinea just days after coming under criticism for skipping some regional meetings in Singapore.
A Philippine government statement says Duterte will attend the first day of meetings of leaders from 21 APEC countries on Saturday in Port Moresby and then fly home later in the day. The annual summit of Pacific Rim nations concludes Sunday. It gave no reason for Duterte's early departure.
Duterte, 73, missed some meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Wednesday in Singapore to take "power naps," sparking criticism from an opposition senator, who said the absences may have been caused by the president's poor health or laziness.
