Palace: Let Duterte decide where to stay

President-elect Rodrigo Duterte said he would not stay in Malacañang when he assumes the position and would commute daily from Davao to Manila and back. He kidded that the centuries-old mansion had ghosts. INQUIRER FILES

A Malacañang official said on Monday that President-elect Rodrigo Duterte should be allowed to decide where to stay after he said that he did not want to live in the presidential palace in Manila.

“Let the incoming President decide on the most appropriate lodging arrangement that works best for him,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in text message to reporters.

READ: Duterte: My work at Malacañang starts at 1 p.m. | Duterte opts for simple Malacañang inauguration

In a press conference in Davao City on Saturday, Duterte said that in his first few months in office, he would commute daily from Manila to Davao.

He said that he would take the last commercial flight to Davao at 9 p.m. and  be back in Manila the next day at 8 a.m.

“My bed is here. My room is here. My home is my comfort zone. It’s important that I can sleep and take a shower comfortably,” the Davao City mayor said. He said his daily schedule would begin at 1 p.m.

Asked  why he would not feel comfortable living in Malacañang Palace, Duterte said that he had a “prejudice” against it.

He even jested that there were “ghosts” there.

“Ask Imee Marcos. I spoke to her. She was here the other night. There are really ghosts there. I asked her, ‘How many did you see?’ She said ‘five,’” he said.