MANILA – President Rodrigo R. Duterte will air his side on the issuance of Proclamation 572 when he arrives on Saturday from his six-day fruitful trip in Israel and Jordan, his top aide said on Friday.
Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go also denied that the proclamation, which declared Trillanes’ amnesty void ab initio (from the beginning), was another step to silence the opposition.
“Wala hong katotohanan iyan at antayin na lang natin ang ating Pangulong umuwi at magbibigay ng kanyang pahayag (It is not true and let’s just wait for the President’s return and he will give his statement),” Go said in a radio interview.
Go said Duterte will also give his comment on Fr. Noel Gatchalian who joked during his homily that he prayed for Duterte to get sick.
“Medyo hindi po maganda iyong sinabi dahil kalusugan ng ating Pangulo iyong na-mention nya. Sabi ko, antayin na lang nating ang Pangulong sumagot tungkol diyan. At sinabi ko nga na sana ay patawarin siya ng Diyos (It’s not a good joke because he mentioned the health of the President. As I said, let’s wait for the President to give his answer about it. And as I said, may God forgive him),” Go said.
He said the President has cut short his trip by one day after his scheduled visit at Jordan’s military installation was held ahead of the schedule originally set on Saturday.
“So ginawa na namin kanina (Thursday); so pwede nang umuwi ang ating Pangulo para tugunan pa iyong mga importanteng trabaho sa bansang Pilipinas (It was held a while ago. So our President can go home now ta attend to important works in the Philippines),” Go said.
Go said the high 6.4% inflation rate registered in August was among the top concerns that Duterte will address after his official trip, the first by a Filipino leader both in Jordan and in Israel.
He said Duterte’s economic managers have requested to have a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday next week.
“So bago iyan ay magkakaroon ho ng briefing si Secretary (Carlos) Dominguez to update or to apprise the President on financial market,” Go said.
Aside from good number of investments, Go said Duterte will bring home PHP30 billion worth of donation from Jordan, including two Cobra helicopters and other military equipment such as mortar and rocket-propelled grenade.
He said the President was very impressed when he witnessed the demonstration of the military capability of Jordan.
The Philippines’s Department of National Defense (DND) and the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on defense cooperation.
Go said Duterte will meet the Filipino community in Jordan on Friday before flying back to the Philippines.
Duterte is set to arrive on Saturday morning at the Davao International Airport where he is also expected to highlight the results of trip in his arrival statement.