DAVAO CITY – On the day of his proclamation on Monday as the new President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte buckled down to work as mayor of this city, signing papers and barking orders.
He has a few weeks left before he leaves his office and goes to Malacañang to lead the country.
“He is doing his chores as mayor of Davao. Madami pang documents for signature,” Duterte’s executive assistant Bong Go told reporters.
In a joint session on Monday afternoon, Congress officially proclaimed Duterte as the country’s 16th President and Leni Robredo as the 14th Vice President.
Duterte won the race to Malacañang by a landslide with an overwhelming 16,601,997 votes. Far behind Duterte was Liberal Party standard-bearer Mar Roxas II.
The tough-talking mayor was firm in his decision to skip the proclamation, calling it “corny.”
His lawyers Salvador Panelo and Vitaliano Aguirre represented him in the proclamation rites.
Throughout his 30 years in public office, Duterte never attended any of his proclamations, according to his running mate Senator Alan Peter Cayetano. AC/rga/AC