FORMER Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. had no choice but to live in the United States (US) during the martial law years to avoid political persecution, President Rodrigo Duterte said Thursday.
The President, in an interview during his visit to slain and wounded policemen in Davao del Sur, explained that Yasay went to US because the latter had become an asylum seeker, since he was among the individuals included in the lookout list during the Martial law years.
He said Yasay did not really want to live in America but he had been "avoiding the Philippines" because he was "wanted".
Yasay left the Philippines in 1978 and was petitioned by his wife, an American citizen.
"Yasay was taken out allegedly for lying about his citizenship. I don’t know what happened but Yasay and I, we’re roommates. But sometime, when the Martial law was declared, he’s gone, along with [former Senator Ernesto] Maceda because they’re in the list of wanted, as shown by the police. The next thing I knew, they surfaced in America," Duterte said.
"After Martial law years, they came back. I don’t know what really happened along the way. But definitely, I can say Yasay was there not for his own choice, to live in America, but rather, he was seeking asylum,” he added.
Duterte made the statement after Yasay on Wednesday failed to get the Commission on Appointment’s (CA) nod for his appointment as Foreign Affairs Secretary.
On Thursday morning, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Enrique Manalo was named as the acting head of the Department of Foreign Affairs. (SunStar Philippines)