Duterte to work from Davao City ‘for rest of the week’

FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte reviews a document during a meeting with members of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) at the Malago Clubhouse in Malacañang on June 15, 2020. ROBINSON NIÑAL JR./PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte will again be working from Davao City “for the rest of the week”, Malacañang said on Tuesday.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Duterte is scheduled to address the public and meet with members of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management on Infectious Diseases on Tuesday night.

“Magtatalumpati nga po at magmemensahe si Presidente galing sa Davao. Ang inaasahan ko po na for the rest of the week, nandun po si Presidente (The President will deliver his message from Davao. I expect him to stay there for the rest of the week),” he said in a virtual presser.

Roque was not privy to Duterte’s schedule but explained that he will be busy attending meetings.

This is not the first time Duterte opted to work from Davao City.

Last month, he also stayed in his hometown and held IATF-EID meetings there.

Duterte’s decision to stay in his hometown comes amid speculations about his health.

Observers noticed that Duterte looked low-spirited during his speech at the Edwin Andrews Air Base in Zamboanga City last Friday where he appealed to soldiers to stay calm, and discouraged them from taking revenge against the police for the killing of four of their comrades.

Duterte’s Zamboanga City visit was the first time he met with government troops since the country was hit by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic

On Monday, Roque allayed concerns over his well-being, saying he was not suffering from any condition, but was simply “emotional” over the deaths of four soldiers gunned down by police officers in Jolo, Sulu.

“That’s not health-related, it’s more of an emotional issue,” he said.

Roque compared Duterte’s feeling to that of a father grieving the loss of his own child, noting that his voice was cracking while delivering his speech.

“Matamlay talaga siya dahil talagang kusang malungkot. Para siyang ama na namatayan ng anak (He is really low-spirited because he is sad. He’s like a father who lost his son),” he said.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Duterte usually flew home to Davao City on weekends.

He stayed in Manila for the entire duration of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), the most stringent community quarantine, to lead the nation’s fight against Covid-19 pandemic.