Leaders always stay where the crisis is, Duterte says from Davao

A leader must always stay where the crisis is and not abandon his people during a time of need, President Rodrigo Duterte said Monday night as he gave his latest coronavirus briefing from Davao.

Duterte made the statement following rumors, which he vehemently denied, that he secretly flew to Singapore over the weekend.

“If it is a private undertaking, a private trip, you can go. Just leave somebody to take care… But otherwise, ang isang leader would always stay where the crisis is. Hindi ka dapat maglagalag kung may problema ang bayan,” he said.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque earlier said Duterte was in “perpetual isolation” as a preventive measure against COVID-19.

Roque also belied speculation that Duterte briefly left the country.

Prior to his televised address, Duterte also told the public, through Senator Bong Go’s Facebook page, that he had been in Davao “all along.”

While the Chief Executive denied leaving the country, he stressed that he had the right to travel as a Filipino citizen.

“I am a citizen of this country. The right to travel is guaranteed. Kung guaranteed sa inyo, e ‘di guaranteed sa akin. Kaya I will not hide it. I said I am not stupid to use government  funds, malalaman at malalaman ng tao, so stop this nonsense about me going to Singapore, if at all," Duterte said.

"Kung gusto ko pupunta ako, wala kayong pakialam kung gusto kong pumunta at I will not, under no circumstances do I have the obligation to keep it a secret, what for?" he added.

Duterte also said he would “probably” put Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana instead of Vice President Leni Robredo in charge of the country if he ever traveled abroad.

“Usually, you leave the helm to the deputy prime minister or to the vice president. But I am not inclined to do that. Kung gusto ko, aalis ako,” he said.

“If things are not quite good, then I leave it in the hands of the military. Probably it would be the Secretary of Defense, kung medyo topsy-turvy ang bayan,” Duterte added. — DVM, GMA News