President Rodrigo Duterte
—MALACAÑANG PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte is “satisfied” and “very happy” with the performance and achievements of his administration for the past six years, for which he thanked his men, Cabinet Secretary Melvin Matibag said Tuesday.
Matibag said Duterte expressed his gratitude to his Cabinet during his last full Cabinet meeting on Monday night after department secretaries presented their accomplishments that “delighted” the President.
“I think he is satisfied, he is very happy. He personally thanked ‘yung mga Cabinet official who made a lot of sacrifices. For one, si Secretary Rolly Bautista very quiet but very effective. Of course si Secretary Tugade, economic team,” Matibag told reporters in a chance interview.
“Lahat naman na tumulong at nagsakripisyo for him to fulfill ang promise nya sa ating mga taumbayan noong sya’y kumandidato noong 2016,” he added.
(All of them helped him and sacrificed for him to fulfill his promise to the Filipino people when he ran for the presidency in 2016.)
Matibag said Duterte also thanked the spouses of the officials for “being not selfish” for the time they spent serving the government.
Duterte held a Cabinet meeting on Monday night, after which they had a dinner, which Matibag said, was a “celebration” and a “tribute” of what his administration had achieved.
“I think it was a celebration, a tribute also to the men and women of the Cabinet. Despedida, celebration of what the Cabinet of the administration had achieved,” he said.
Matibag, who also serves as the secretary-general of Duterte’s PDP-Laban, said that the President is also scheduling other gatherings with friends. The PDP-Laban is likewise seeking a gathering with Duterte with the party’s winning candidates in the 2022 elections.