Anti-American Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte was reported to have been invited to visit the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) currently on patrol in the South China Sea but turned down the invitation and instead sent three members of his Cabinet perceived to be not rabidly anti-American.

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Flown by a U.S. Navy helicopter to the 101,000 ton Nimitz-class aircraft carrier were Secretary of National Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana; Secretary of Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez and Secretary of Justice Vitaliano Aguirre II.

They wereaccompanied to the carrier by U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim and met the carrier's officers led by its Commanding Officer, Captain Doug "V8" Verissimo.

Philippine media was abuzz with news Duterte had been invited but had declined for unknown reasons. Speculation as to why ranged from Duterte's fear of angering China to his being an emotional wreck.

This ahead of the testimony in the Senate by the police officer who once led the Davao Death Squad organized by Duterte, and which slaughtered over 2,000 persons in a drug war gone mad.

That star witness against Duterte, former police officer Arturo Lascañas, will testify before the Senate on March 6 and confirm statements he previously made that Duterte had personally ordered him and the Davao Death Squad to murder people while mayor of Davao City.

Duterte and Lascañas were the best of friends before Lascañas decided to reveal Duterte's direct hand in thousands of killings. Duterte was never brought to trial for these murders.

Aboard the USS Carl Vinson, Lorenzana praised the "strong relationship" with the United States despite the pro-communist Duterte's pivot towards communist China and the formerly communist Russia.

"We have a strong relationship with the U.S. on account of our Mutual Defense Treaty," said Lorenzana, referring to the 1951 agreement where the U.S. pledged to militarily support the Philippines should the latter be attacked by another nation.

Lorenzana also said he and his fellow Cabinet members had a "very interesting and informative" visit to the aircraft carrier.

Lorenzana is a retired Major General in the Philippine Army and was once commander of the Army's Special Forces Command. The U.S. awarded him the Legion of Merit (Degree of Officer).

A video of the visit can be viewed here.

A major reason for the strained ties between the Philippines and the U.S. is Duterte's refusal to appoint a Philippine Ambassador to the United States. The Philippines has not had an ambassador since July 2016.

The Philippines' Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Perfecto Yasay, who's an American citizen as proven by documents, said it's unnecessary at this time for the Philippines to appoint an ambassador since the consular staff in Washington D.C. is doing that job.

Yasay's U.S. citizenship disqualifies him for holding any position in the Philippine government. This fact, and Yasay's lying about it under oath and in official documents, should lead to Yasay being stripped of his position. 

TagsPhilippines, Rodrigo Duterte, USS Carl Vinson, CVN-70, South China Sea, Secretary of National Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Captain Doug "V8" Verissimo