‘Overworked’ Duterte skips Boao Forum

FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte raises the hands of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) senatorial candidates at a campaign rally at the Caraga State University in Cabadbaran City, Agusan del Norte on April 21, 2019. JOEY DALUMPINES/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte will not be attending the BOAO Forum for Asia (BFA) because “he is not feeling well”, Malacañang said on Monday.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the President opted to skip the forum in Shangri-La at the Fort, Taguig City to take a break from his punishing schedule including campaign sorties.

“He is not feeling well due to his punishing schedule and successive campaign sorties,” Panelo said in a message to reporters.

“Yup that’s the reason. Overworked,” he added.

During PDP-Laban’s most recent campaign sortie in Agusan del Norte on Sunday (April 21) night, the President’s speech lasted for over two hours.

Panelo has repeatedly assured the public that there is no cause for worry about the President’s health since he “puts a break to his activities if he feels his body is not up to it”.

He, meanwhile, said the President was in his home in Davao City when the earthquake struck.

Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) earlier reported a magnitude 6.1 earthquake which rocked parts of Luzon, including Metro Manila late Monday afternoon.

Government personnel staying in Malacañang, including Panelo and Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar, were among those who rushed out of the building at the time of the quake.

The BOAO Forum for Asia (BFA) aims to promote regional economic integration and bring Asian countries even closer to their development goals.

This year, the Philippines will play host to the 2019 Boao Forum for Asia Manila Conference under the initiative of House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.