By Genalyn Kabiling
President Duterte considers the presidency a thankless job and won't advise his daughter to follow in his footsteps.
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte
(SIMEON CELI JR./PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Speaking at the PDP-Laban campaign rally in Batangas, the President said being the country's leader entails sacrifices, including enduring long working hours, low salary, as well as insults.
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, chair of the Hugpong ng Pagbabago regional party, is reportedly being groomed as the country's potential next president but the President has dispelled such speculation.
"My daughter is not running for president. I told her, wala kang… Sakripisyo ka lang diyan. Kakaliit ng sweldo ng p****** i** tapos ganon ang sakripisyo mo. Wala kang tulog gabi-gabi (My daughter is not running for president. I told her you'll only endure sacrifices. You will get a small salary despite your sacrifices. You will lack sleep every night],” Duterte said.
Duterte, former Davao City mayor, has complained about dealing with thousands of paperwork in office. He said he suffers from hand stiffness after affixing his signature to many documents, including appointment papers.
"Alam mo ang pirmahan ko pa to go? There are 10,000 signatures. Sa appointment lang 6,000. Kaya ang kamay ko man --- nanigas na ganon. Hindi na makahawak ng kutsara ," he said, eliciting laughter from the crowd.
"Oo, totoo. Tanungin mo ‘yang mga naging presidente. Tanungin mo si Arroyo ," he added.
He claimed that he once kicked the bundle of documents out of exhaustion and ignored them but his staff kept reminding him about the paperwork.
"O tapos umuuwi ako ng probinsya hindi ko pinapansin. So sila, “Saan na ‘yung batas?” Ah p***** i**. Tumahimik kayo diyan ," he said.
With the difficult job as president, Duterte said he told his daughter not to consider running for the highest government post in the country. Apart from being overworked and underpaid, the President also deals with insults and criticisms at work, Duterte pointed out.
"Kaya sabi ko kay Inday, 'huwag kang tumakbo.' Anong makuha mo? You serve the nation tapos ‘yang kung mag-insulto itong mga p**** i** mga pera-pera lang ," he said.
Back in February 2018, the President believed that he deserves a higher salary for the heavy workload in office. The President said his “ideal” salary should be at least P1 million from the P200,000 monthly pay he receives as the country’s leader.