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Video footage released by government channel
RTVM showed Seagal animatedly talking to Duterte.
Seagal, 65, was in the Philippines to look for a location for
his upcoming movie which will be "about illegal drugs and other
crimes", a presidential palace statement said.
The statement said that Duterte told Seagal that "movies are a
reflection of life" and "reiterated his strong stance against
illegal drugs because it enslaves people to a form of synthetic
chemical."
Duterte has been involved in a deadly drug war since taking
office last June, and on Wednesday ordered all drug operations
be left to the drug enforcement agency, amid unprecedented
scrutiny of police conduct in the brutal crackdown that has left
thousands of Filipinos dead.
Earlier this week, Seagal said at a news conference in Manila
that he didn't think the Philippines was "a dangerous place".
"It's a place that's up and coming with the new leadership," the
Philippine Star reported him as saying.
Duterte was nicknamed "The Punisher" due to his zero-tolerance
of crime and drugs during the 22 years he was mayor of southern
Davao City.
A former martial arts instructor, Seagal is famous for action
hero roles in blockbuster movies in the 1990s, such as "Under
Siege" and "Hard To Kill".
He has also starred in a reality television series called
"Steven Seagal: Lawman", in which he carries out duties as a
reserve deputy sheriff in Louisiana.
(Writing by Karishma Singh; Editing by Michael Perry)
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