The Philippine Star

Foreign envoys go to Davao to see Duterte

- By EDITH REGALADO

DAVAO CITY — Representa­tives of several foreign embassies have reportedly arrived here and are set to meet with incoming president Rodrigo Duterte.

The outgoing mayor will meet wellwisher­s and supporters today after taking a weeklong break following the gruelling 90-day campaign period.

He will meet his guests at the Matina Enclaves in the southern part of the city.

The representa­tives of foreign embassies have booked several rooms in various local hotels.

Spokesman Peter Laviña said those who would see Duterte have made prior arrangemen­ts.

Aside from the foreign diplomats, several people have been in Davao City immediatel­y after the results of the May 9 polls were out, in an apparent jockeying for position in a Duterte administra­tion.

It remains to be seen how Duterte would react to representa­tives from the United States government.

Duterte has expressed dismay with the US government after the Central Intelligen­ce Agency (CIA) whisked away a British-American man back to the US. Michael Terrence Meiring was seriously injured in an explosion in Davao City in May 2002. Meiring allegedly slipped out of the country without facing charges.

Duterte felt it was an insult to him when the American government got Meiring out without having the suspect face charges in Davao for keeping explosives in a room at Evergreen Hotel.

Since the Meiring incident, Duterte has refused to meet American ambassador­s who came to Davao City, although he welcomed Ambassador Francis Ricciardon­e during a police event against illegal drugs.

Duterte also refused to allow American operatives to use the facility of the old Davao Internatio­nal Airport terminal as a staging area for the operation of unmanned aerial vehicles or drones.

Duterte has also been adamant in not allowing American servicemen to conduct joint Balikatan exercises with their Filipino counterpar­ts in this city.

He has made his position clear about the American presence in this part of the country.

Armed police guards had been posted at a hospital room where Meiring was recuperati­ng from severe injuries when CIA agents whisked him away on a private jet that was waiting at the airport.

Police said Meiring is a treasure hunter who could have been using the explosives to help his team dig for buried treasure around Davao.

Duterte himself could not hide his disgust over the issue.

“The blast was all his fault and I did not like his behavior when he refused to cooperate with the police when he was accosted days before the incident,” he said.

Police said the dynamite stored in the room had caused the explosion, which damaged several of the Evergreen Hotel’s 52 rooms. Damage was placed at P2 million.

Reports said Meiring, with third-degree burns and broken legs, owes the hotel some P250,000 for his accommodat­ion. He has been in and out of the country in the past 10 years.

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