Andanar on Duterte’s Hong Kong trip: ‘He deserves a break’

Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar defended on Sunday President Rodrigo Duterte’s unscheduled trip to Hong Kong, saying “he deserves it.”

“Napaka-hardworking po ni President Duterte so mas maganda na talagang mag-enjoy lang siya doon na walang istorbo (The President is a hardworking man, so he deserves to enjoy a vacation without interruption),” Andanar said in his interview with Radyo Inquirer 990 AM.

According to Andanar, Duterte was already fond of going to Hong Kong even before he became the president of the country. He also deserves to spend personal time and bond with his family.

Duterte flew to Hong Kong on Saturday night together with his partner, Honeylet Avanceña, and daughter, Veronica “Kitty” Duterte.

READ: LOOK: Duterte in Hong Kong with Honeylet, Kitty to rest

Andanar advised the President to relax and ignore his critics, noting the high satisfaction rating the people gave him in the recent Social Weather Survey (SWS).

“Basta, Mr. President, relax ka lang diyan hayaan mo iyong mga critics mo, ang mahalaga ay ang taong bayan natin, more than 80 percent na mga kababayan natin ay naniniwala sa iyo at lately nga ang bagong survey 78 percent I’m not sure if it’s SWS or Pulse Asia,” Andanar said.

(Mr. President, just relax and don’t mind your critics. The important thing is the Filipino people believes in you. More than 80 percent of our citizens believe in you. I’m not sure though if it is SWS or Pulse Asia survey.)

The net satisfaction rating of the President in the latest SWS poll was 70 percent. /ee

READ: SWS: Number of Filipinos satisfied with Duterte’s performance increases