President Rodrigo Duterte once again defended his recent weekend trip to Hong Kong yesterday amid rumors that he was in the city for reasons other than to celebrate his partner’s birthday.
Duterte defended his family’s holiday during the joint celebration of the 9th anniversary of the Mindanao Development Authority and the 25th anniversary of the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area in Davao City.
He was responding to Senator Senator Antonio Trillanes IV’s comments about the trip.
“Trillanes, you take on every issue. I go (sic) to Hong Kong to celebrate the birthday of my wife. That was the order of my daughter. And the order of my daughter, just like the order of mayor here (His daughter, Sara Duterte-Carpio), I follow. If I’m in front of them I’m just a sergeant. They are the generals,” he said.
Trillanes also said on Sunday that it was likely that Duterte went to Hong Kong to seek medical care.
Trillanes said: “You went there to get treatment or to spend your money or both. But definitely, you did not go there just to rest or shop.”
The president’s health has been the subject of much speculation since last year, in large part caused by his tendency to disappear from public view for several days at a time. Earlier this month, Duterte even appeared on a video shot by his partner Honeylet Avanceña to prove that he was still alive.
Duterte went to Hong Kong with Avanceña and daughter Kitty Duterte, just four months after a previous unannounced trip to the city. The previous trip also sparked speculations about the president’s health.
Duterte also took time to discuss Trillanes’ comments about the casualties of the government’s bloody drug war.
“And so? Are you not happy that I’m doing it for you? Instead of you, a military idiot, you do not even know how to count. You bow down to the figures of foreigners. You go to America,” Duterte said.
Trillanes commented about a Social Weather Stations survey on Sunday which showed that respondents believe there are fewer drug addicts in their communities. The lawmaker said that it wasn’t surprising that respondents believed this because the government has killed thousands of drug addicts without due process.
Trillanes is one of Duterte’s fiercest critics. In September, Duterte voided Trillanes’ amnesty, which was granted to him by former President Benigno Aquino III. Trillanes is currently facing a rebellion charge for his participation in the 2007 Manila Peninsula siege against then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, which was initially dismissed after he was granted amnesty.
The senator is also facing a libel charge filed by Duterte’s son Paolo Duterte and son-in-law Manses Carpio. He was also charged for grave threats for allegedly threatening an undersecretary of the Department of Labor and Employment.
On top of those, Duterte has said that the government would investigate the allegedly dubious deals that Trillanes’ parents made with the Philippine Navy.
Reader Interactions