• Duterte assures full protection of OFWs from abuses
• Pres. Duterte in Vietnam to further bolster diplomatic ties
• Vietnamese President receives President Duterte at Presidential Palace


“You guys when you go home, there will be changes. There will be no harassments in the Immigration and Customs. I will not allow that,” the President said.

“I’m telling everybody, every meeting in the Cabinet:This will be a clean government. Let us give the Filipino a respite of the agony and suffering,” he added.



Duterte said corruption in agencies dealing with OFWs would become “a thing in the past” under his administration.



He encouraged OFWs to report any form of abuses, assuring them of prompt action.

Also in his speech, Duterte renewed his commitment to carry out a relentless and sustained campaign against illegal drugs.



He said the recorded number of drug addicts in the country, which has reached four million, is really “mind-boggling”.”

I will not leave the presidency in shame. I will not go out pagkatapos ng termino ko at mag-iwan ako nang mabigat na problema na ang addicts now or multiply to something like 10 million,” he said.



He said he is determined to rid the country of criminality and corruption. PND

The President wore a barong and black pants and was accompanied by Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang.

Also with the President at the wreath-laying ceremony were Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco, Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go, Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr., Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre, Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez, Communications Secretary Martin Andanar, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, and Senator Francis Escudero.

The Monument of the National Heroes and Martyrs, also called the Vietnam War Memorial, is located in Bac Son Street across the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.

It was constructed in 1993 and commemorates men and women who sacrificed themselves during the 2nd Indochina War, also known as the American War in Vietnam.

Following the wreath-laying ceremony, the President’s official delegation went straight to the welcome ceremony at the State Palace.

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is the third country visited by President Duterte since he assumed office last June. The Philippines has a Strategic Partnership with Vietnam, which was signed last year.

Vietnam and the Philippines are celebrating the 40th year of bilateral relations this year.

It will be recalled that earlier this month, President Duterte visited Lao PDR for his first attendance in the 28th and 29th ASEAN Summits as well as Indonesia for his first working visit. PND

Upon his arrival, President Duterte was received by President Quang and was accorded an official welcome ceremony.

The President and his official delegation were then escorted to the State Palace Yellow Room for a tête-a-tête with his Vietnamese counterpart.

Present were Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez and Philippine Ambassador to Vietnam Noel Servigon.

On Vietnam side, President Quang was accompanied by Chairman of the Office of the Government Mai Tien Dung, Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Vietnamese Ambassador to the Philippines Truong Trieu Duong.

After the tête-a-tête, President Duterte and President Quang proceeded to an adjacent room for a bilateral meeting.

Aside from the four officials, the following officials also joined the bilateral meeting: National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar, Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco, and Special Assistant to the President Christopher Go, and Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Francis Escudero.

President Duterte is in Hanoi for a two-day official visit.

He is later scheduled to pay courtesy calls on key leaders of Vietnam before he returns to the Philippines on Thursdayevening.PND