NEARLY two years after sparking global outrage for likening his controversial drug war to the Holocaust, President Rodrigo Duterte is scheduled to embark on a three-day visit to Israel on September 2 to 5, MalacaƱang said on Tuesday, August 14.
"The President has accepted the invitation of Prime Minister [of] Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, to visit the state of Israel from 2 to 5 September 2018," Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. confirmed in a press conference.
Duterte will be the first Filipino leader to visit Israel since the Philippines formally established its diplomatic ties with the Jewish nation on August 9, 1957.
Roque said Duterte's historic trip to Israel would highlight the "enduring friendship" between Filipinos and Israelis, which began when the late President Manuel Quezon opened the Philippines as a sanctuary to around 1,300 Jewish refugees fleeing the Holocaust.
At the height of his deadly war on narcotics trade, Duterte in September 2016 compared himself to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler who had killed around six million Jews at the end of World War II.
Duterte had drawn the ire and fury of many global leaders, including Jewish officials, prompting him to issue a public apology just days after he made the Holocaust remarks.
Roque said Duterte would raise with Netanyahu the Philippines' intent to bolster cooperation with Israel in several fields, including counter terrorism, and security and law enforcement.
"The President and Prime Minister Netanyahu are expected to discuss common concerns and ways of expanding cooperation in the areas of labor, tourism, trade, agriculture, counter-terrorism, security and law enforcement," the Palace official said.
Duterte is also expected to meet Israeli President Reuven Rivlin to discuss development cooperation and the close ties between the two countries, Roque said.
On the sidelines of his meeting with the two Israeli leaders, Duterte would also grace a business forum that will be attended by the Philippine business delegation.
Roque said several agreements were also expected to be signed. He, however, was not privy to the specific deals that will be inked by the two nations.
He said Duterte would also meet the members of the Filipino community in Israel.
On Sunday, August 12, Israel newspaper Haarets reported that Israeli human rights activists were urging Rivlin not to meet Duterte.
"There is no place for a mass murderer and a person who supports rape, shooting women in their sexual organs and bombing schools to meet with Israel's president," Haarets said, quoting the letter written by the Israeli's human rights activists.
Sought for comment, Roque wished the human rights group in the Jewish country "good luck" in convincing Rivlin not to hold a dialogue with Duterte.
Roque added that there was no problem with Duterte, should Netanyahu decide to cancel his invitation to the Philippine president.
"Activists are complaining? Good luck to them. if they can persuade the Prime Minister to call off the visit, of course, we will call it off. Walang problema (There's no problem with that)," he said. (SunStar Philippines)