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Palace explains why the President was a no-show for several days; Pres. Rodrigo Duterte says he did it to have a break for two weeks

According to him, he gave himself a two-week leave. He said that he spent a lot of time working on papers and has no illness that would prevent him from exercising his power as President of the Republic of the Philippines.

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“Talagang sinadya ko yun, ganun ako eh.”

Those seven latest words [not related to ‘The Seven Last Words’] can easily be linked to President Duterte‘s response to COVID-19 in the country. According to him, he gave himself a two-week leave.

He said that he spent a lot of time working on papers and has no illness that would prevent him from exercising his power as President of the Republic of the Philippines.

As far as the Palace is concerned, though, no one is entitled to know if Duterte is indeed working—at least according to his Spokesperson Harry Roque.

Roque went on to say “Ang taong bayan naman ay naniniwala naman na talagang on top of the situation ang President even if hindi niya pinangangalandakan ito sa taumbayan.”

As for proof that the President is indeed in good health, his long-time aide, Sen. Christopher ‘Bong’ Go, showed videos of the Commander-in-Chief jogging, riding an ATV, and playing golf within the Malacañang grounds.

All three statements were met with disdain by Netizens, who wanted assurance that the President is really on top of the pandemic.

One Netizen even pointed out how Duterte did not perform his assigned duty for two weeks, yet he still had time to tackle his hobbies.

Netizens even compared him to the late President Elpidio Quirino, who did serve the nation even from his hospital bed.

Quirino was known to hold a monthly radio broadcast that he never skipped—at least for 15 months.

Most Netizens, however, continue to ask whether Duterte was competent enough to lead the country.

To date, Duterte has resorted to what has now become his standard rhetoric: telling Filipinos it’s okay even if the country lacks the vaccines and that there are countries that are far worse than the Philippines.

As for his year-long task force to tackle the pandemic, progress has been slow-going.

It was only in March this year when a contact tracing app got implemented across the nation: the StaySafe app.

Just recently, the Philippine National Police (PNP) announced that they would no longer hold quarantine violators within jail cells.

In a surprise move from PNP chief Gen. Debold Sinas, the policemen are now ordered not to arrest quarantine violators and to turn away barangay officials who turn over the same.

Offenders should be fined on the spot or asked to render community service instead.

ATVBong GoCOVID-19golfHarry RoquejoggingMalacañangrodrigo dutertesinadya ko yuntwo-week absence

Written by Andronico Del Rosario

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