Duterte defends need to 'power nap' after summit no-shows

SINGAPORE: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday made light of his penchant for daytime dozes after his office said "power naps" had caused the gruff leader to miss a number of key meetings at a Singapore summit. Duterte is attending the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting alongside a string of world leaders including Russia's Vladimir Putin, Japan's Shinzo Abe, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and US Vice-president Mike Pence. But on Wednesday, the mercurial leader missed four of the eleven meetings he was slated to attend, as well as a gala dinner hosted by Singaporean leader Lee Hsien Loong.

"What's wrong with my nap?" the 73-year-old told reporters as he arrived at the summit venue on Thursday morning for another long day of meetings.

Asked if he felt fully rested he replied: "Still not good enough, but enough to sustain the endurance for the last days."

Duterte's no-shows on Wednesday prompted a statement from his office explaining he had only had three hours of sleep the night before.

"He took power naps to catch (up) on sleep," presidential spokesman Salvador S Panelo said, adding that "some quarters are making a big fuss of the president skipping a few meetings." "We assure the nation that his aforementioned absence has nothing to do with his physical health and wellbeing which have been the subject of speculation," he added.