He’s going national.
On Mon, Jun 27, President-elect Rodrigo Duterte attended the flag-raising ceremony to bid farewell and thank the Davao City’s government employees — particularly those at the Davao City Hall — for their support during his stint as mayor.
“Duterte had been city mayor for 23 years. He also served for a term as vice mayor and representative of the first district of Davao,” recalled Edith Regalado in The Philippine Star.
In his speech, Duterte said, “I would like to thank you for your fidelity, your trust in me and the brotherly love you have shown all these years of working with me. I appreciate it very much. I was first elected in 1988, I never lost an election until I reached the presidency. I owe it to you… I always say look at Davao. Without the backing and the help of the military and the police and you, I would not have succeeded.”
He added, “We cannot totally erase graft and corruption, but at least here in Davao we were able to correct the so many errors along the way. I intend to do that for the entire country.”
The report noted: “As his parting gift, Duterte said city hall employees would each get a PHP10,000 bonus. The money should be released directly to the wives of the city hall employees, Davao City police officers and the Army-led Task Force Davao to ensure that it would be put to good use, he quipped.”
