President Duterte’s late-night public briefing on Monday night, June 6, with Cabinet officials could be his last as his term will end on June 30.
In his weekly “Talk to the People”, Duterte seemed to make a parting message to the Filipinos with just three weeks left in his term.
“Maybe this will be the last of the programs na (that) we adopted to improve the communication between the people and government,” he said.
Cabinet officials gave updates on the government’s efforts and achievements over the past two years. They discussed the government's pandemic response, including its procurement of Covid-19 vaccines.
The President noted he was able to “connect” with the people through his weekly public briefings, where they can speak about the truth of what his administration is really doing.
“Dito yung (This is the) forum or platform na malaman ninyo ang totoo (for you to know the truth) because we do not have any reason to lie. Wala kaming iniimbentong istorya, yung totoo lang (We are not inventing stories, it’s only about the truth),” he said.
The Chief Executive mused that “it was a fruitful and productive journey all these years.”
Duterte admitted ignoring his critics because of the political nature of his work being the highest official of the land.
“Whether you like it or not, the president is a politician, may mga kalaban talaga ‘yan sa pulitika (he has political enemies). And so all throughout almost the six years, I was a — hindi ko naman pinapansin ‘yan (I did not pay attention to them),” he said.
“So the better policy is just to ignore them and that’s what we did. We never bothered to even to hear what they were uttering or complaining about,” Duterte added.
Retiring from politics, the outgoing President stressed that he will just be in hometown of Davao but he will not hesitate to use his voice if “there’s a compelling need for me to talk.”
He shared that his administration “is both ready and eager to hand over the reins of government to our incoming leaders.”
READ: 'We must all be united': Duterte appeals to Filipinos to support Marcos Jr.
“I assure everyone that this process will be smooth and peaceful as we want the next administration to succeed for the benefit of country,” he said.
“I urge my fellow Filipinos to rally behind and support our new leaders so that they can build on the gains we have achieved these past six years. We must all be united in confronting the issues ahead of us. We have no room for politicking or go into a divisive exercise in whatever endeavors that you can think of just to divide the country. Huwag nating gawain ‘yan (Let’s not do that),” Duterte added.
“My fellow Filipinos, the next administration needs all our support and solidarity. Let us therefore give them our goodwill and our best wishes as they endeavor to lead our country towards a better future.”