Malacañang said that President Duterte is working hard to ensure the smooth transition of power to his successor in the Palace so that the next chief executive will not have a hard time dealing with the challenges that face the country.
Communications Secretary Martin Andanar made the statement days before the Duterte administration enters the last quarter of its six-year run.
In a radio interview on Thursday, March 10, Andanar said that President Duterte does not want his successor to have a hard time facing the challenges from dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic to keeping the economy afloat.
"Gagawin ng Pangulo ang lahat para ang transition ay smooth at hindi mahirapan ang susunod na gobyerno na harapin ang mga bagong hamon (The President will do everything to ensure a smooth transition so that the next administration will not have a hard time facing the new challenges)," he told Super Radyo DZBB.
"Iyong mga hamon na nanggagaling sa... iyong mga external factors katulad ng giyera sa ibang bansa na nakakaapekto sa ating ekonomiya (The challenges caused by external factors like the war in other countries that affect our economy)," he added.
"Grabe sunud-sunod ito. Pandemya tapos itong... Walang tigil, sobra (It's one after another. We have the pandemic now this. It's not stopping. It's too much)," he continued.
Andanar was referring to the ongoing invasion of Russia on Ukraine that sent prices of basic goods, including petroleum products, to increase.
President Duterte said last month that the has been preparing to leave Malacañang, the official residence of the Philippine president. He said he has been packing his belongings so he can move out by March, months before his term ends on June 30.
Meanwhile, the acting Palace spokesman said President Duterte has been clear since December last year that the focus of his administration in his remaining days in office would be the Covid-19 pandemic until the armed in Eastern Europe erupted.
"Ang focus natin ‘di ba iyong sa Covid, iyong pagbakuna tapos iyong ating ekonomiya, makabalik na, makabukas muli tapos iyong halalan (Our focus is Covid-19-- the vaccination-- and then to revive the economy after the elections)," Andanar said.
"Tapos ito mayroong unforeseen event itong sa Ukraine, so nadagdagan (But we have an unforeseen event, the situation in Ukraine, so that was added to the plate)," he added.
Last week, President Duterte said the Philippines is neutral in the Ukraine-Russia conflict but said reality will push the country to pick a side someday.
He, however, hoped that no country involved in the conflict would resort to using nuclear warheads as this will affect not just Europe but the entire world.
Early this month, Malacañang assured the public that measures are in place to weather the economic and trade effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.