VIENTIANE, Laos – “We shall not be cowed. We will press on.”

Vowing to fight terrorism, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte made this assurance before businessmen on Tuesday evening, September 6, at a business summit here.

“We must redouble our efforts to concentrate on intelligence gathering, prevention, interdiction, arrest, and prosecution,” Duterte said at the 13th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Business and Investment Summit in Laos.

Duterte explained that “recent events…have shown terrorism and violent extremism rearing their ugly heads and threatening to pull us back from our onwards advance to progress.”

Duterte is staying in Laos until Thursday, September 8, for the ASEAN Summit, his first international meeting. (WATCH: VLOG: Duterte makes debut on world stage)

The ASEAN Summit came after a terror attack in his home city of Davao on Friday, September 2, killed at least 14 people, which prompted messages of condemnation and condolences from world leaders.

In a speech in Davao City before leaving for Vientiane, Duterte explained: “Recent events have shown that there are elements out there who seek to sow terror and wreak havoc in our society. We remain firm in our resolve to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.”

Duterte said, “I will use the opportunity for meeting with other ASEAN leaders and ASEAN dialogue partners to seek better support to regional efforts to address terrorism and extreme violent extremism.” – Rappler.com