Duterte reappears; attends Agusan del Norte founding anniversary

File photo of President Rodrigo Duterte as he was about to leave for Davao City at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City. MALACANANG PHOTO

President Rodrigo Duterte made his first public appearance on Saturday afternoon in Butuan City following five days of being out of public’s sight due to spending some “private time.”

Duterte graced the 50th founding anniversary of the Agusan del Norte held at the University of Cabadbaran where he delivered a speech at around 4:30 p.m.

This was his first public engagement of the President after he skipped the Independence Day rites in Manila on June 12.

The 72-year-old President was last seen in public on Sunday, June 11, during the arrival ceremony for eight of the 13 Marines slain in the fighting in Marawi.

READ: Where, o where has Duterte gone? Photos out to quash health rumors
He also visited the wake of two slain Marines held at the Philippine Marines headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella had earlier said Duterte was having his private time, saying the President was “just tired.”

“The President is well. The President just needs… after all, you have to consider that he has been on the road for at least 23 days in fulfilling his martial law supervision. So it has been really brutal so we have to allow him this time of rest,” he told reporters in a Palace briefing.
After his event in Cabadbaran, Duterte proceeded to the 4th Infantry Division Advance Command Post in Bancasi, Butuan City.
He is expected to deliver a speech before the troops. JPV