By Argyll Cyrus Geducos
Malacañang has assured that President Duterte is in tip-top shape despite his absence in two events held in his hometown of Davao City on Friday.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo
(OPS / MANILA BULLETIN)
Former top aide Bong Go said that the President was indisposed due to migraine, prompting him to skip the scheduled events.
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo assured that President Duterte is healthy and that his migraine is just something that the President normally experiences.
"He had a migraine but after three hours of rest, he recovered and he went to work -- reading so many documents. He just stayed at the house," he said.
"Definitely not . The usual migraine that affects him every now and then," he added.
Duterte was supposed to lead the distribution of Certificates of Land Ownership Awards (CLOAs) to Davao Region farmers in Davao City at 5 p.m.
It was learned Friday evening that Duterte skipped the first event and was represented by his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio instead.
Duterte also missed the PDP-Laban proclamation rally at the Crocodile Park Grounds in Barangay Ma-a. The event scheduled at 6 p.m. was moved to 9 p.m. but the President still did not show up.
Senator and re-electionist Koko Pimentel confirmed to those who were present in the event that the President would not be attending the campaign rally.
Duterte also skipped an event in February because he was not "feeling well."
The President's absence in some events in the 33rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Singapore in November last year was also talked about. According to Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo, the President took some power naps in order to regain strength after working the entire night prior to the Summit.