Rody goes it alone in short KL visit

In keeping with his plan to make “private” his trip to Kuala Lumpur today, President Duterte will not be travelling with common-law wife Cielito “Honeylet” Avancena and their daughter Veronica, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque yesterday said.

“No family member [will be] with him,” the Palace official said.

The President will watch the boxing match between Senator Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao and Argentine Lucas Matthysse before holding a meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to discuss issues concerning the Islamic State (IS) and Muslim insurgency.

Roque said the President is expected to come home right after.

The Palace official also admitted that he does not have any idea whether the President was provided tickets by Pacquiao to personally watch his boxing bout.

Roque, in a press briefing earlier this week, said he remains unsure if he could also watch the Pacquiao-Matthysse fight as he has yet to hear from the senator if there’s ticket still available for him.

Aside from Roque, so far, only Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano have confirmed joining Mr. Duterte in the Malaysia visit.

Last Monday, during the Cabinet meeting in Malacanang, the President said Mahathir called him that resulted in the setting up of the meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

“He wants to talk about insurgency and IS. We will be there (in Malaysia on) July 16. After the boxing match, the President will talk with Mahathir,” Roque said.