Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is scheduled to take a chartered flight to Moscow on Tuesday to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who Duterte has called his “favorite hero”. Flying with the president are Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez and Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez.

The “favorite hero” comment originated in October of 2016 just a few months after Duterte took office and a few weeks before the U.S. presidential election. He was returning from Beijing when he was asked by a CNN reporter who he preferred as the next American president. Wishing to remain non-committal he sidestepped the question by saying he was “better off in saying that my favorite hero is Putin.”

Duterte is expected to return to the Philippines on Saturday, Oct. 5, from Russia where the two countries are expected to make some bilateral agreements on topics like culture, health, and basic research. The two leaders will undoubtedly have some discussions on regional and global developments and other issues that involve China and the U.S.

Duterte is also scheduled to speak at a forum of the Valdai International Discussion Club, one of Russia’s prominent and respected think-tanks and discussion groups. It organizes the annual Valdai Forum where top Russian and international officials as well as policymakers, academics and journalists are invited. Duterte will be creating a historical footnote as the first Philippine president to speak at the forum.

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Assistant Secretary Amelita Aquino said in a pre-departure briefing that the subject of Duterte’s speech would be related to the theme “The World Order Seen From The East” in addition to mentioning its historical significance.

Philippine Chief of Presidential Protocol Robert Borje commented it was the first time that the Valdai Forum invited more than one world leader in the event. He added, “This will be the take-off point for the President’s speech. He is expected to give his perspective or vision of the world order as it is emerging right now and how this relates to Philippine foreign policy.”

Borie continued, “Since he will be talking to specific groups, particularly intellectuals, academicians, journalists from Russia, then he’s expected to also provide an overview of how important Philippines-Russia relations are at this point.”

What might raise some eyebrows in the U.S. is that the Russian News Agency TASS has reported that Putin is planning to meet with the Socialist president of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro on the sidelines of the Valdai Forum. Maduro has accused the U.S. of organizing a coup to get him out of office. Is Putin trying to put together a new alliance between Russia, the Philippines and Venezuela?

Rodrigo Duterte and Vladimir Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with his Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte during a meeting in Moscow, May 23, 2017. Getty Images/MAXIM SHEMETOV
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