DAVAO CITY — Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has been on leave since last week to push through with a planned corrective surgery in his spine. His daughter, Vice Mayor Sara Duterte, has taken his office for the time being.
Although he said he does not know yet how long will he be “immobilized,” Duterte said he intends to return on October 10.
He was scheduled to go under the knife before the end of September but he refused to disclose the hospital because he does not want the camera to be following him around. “It is not confidential but it is a private activity,” Duterte said last week.
Duterte said he has no qualms about leaving his post because he has complete trust in his daughter. As if to underscore this, the tough-talking mayor even refused to answer media questions about the robbery incident that happened on Saturday last week inside a jeepney near Tulip Drive in Matina, saying he left everything to his daughter. “You better ask the vice mayor about that, he said.
Asked about the possibility of criminals on the loose while he is away, the mayor retorted, “When the cat is away, the tiger takes over,” apparently alluding to his daughter. (Cheryll D. Fiel, davaotoday.com)
