Sara Off To Japan For Abe Funeral

Vice President Sara Duterte will leave for Japan Sunday, Sept. 25, to attend the state funeral of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday, Sept. 27.

Duterte, who is also education secretary, will be in Japan until Wednesday, Sept. 28, Department of Education (DepEd) spokesman Michael Poa confirmed to The Philippine STAR/OneNews.ph.

It will be Duterte’s first official trip outside the country since assuming the vice presidency.

Other details of the trip, including Duterte’s scheduled activities, have yet to be released.

Duterte confirmed that she will attend Abe’s state funeral during a meeting with Japanese ambassador to the Philippines Kazuhiko Koshikawa last Wednesday, Sept. 21.

She is expected to hand over letters of condolences from President Marcos and her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte.

Abe, the longest serving prime minister of Japan, was assassinated while giving a campaign speech last July 8.

Calling Abe a great leader, the younger Duterte earlier described the incident as a “shocking tragedy that exposes the dark side of humanity.”

“He was a strong ally and a friend of the Philippines, and the immensity of his love and kindness for the Filipinos has been demonstrated many times over through Japan’s support for our growth and development,” she added.

At the DepEd, Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III was designated as officer-in-charge while Duterte is out of the country.

Duterte earlier issued a department order delegating to Densing the authority to sign various documents for and on her behalf.