PRESIDENT Duterte is expected to continue working during the Christmas and New Year holidays as he is a “workaholic,” presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said yesterday.
He said Duterte worked when he was supposed to be resting last month during his three-day, work-from-home schedule.
“Si Presidente naman, nakikita mo naman, walang pahinga. Masyado ngang workaholic itong mama. Sabi niya noon, magbabakasyon, pero wala rin. Talagang… napaka-devoted sa kanyang trabaho bilang presidente (The President, as you can see, he does not rest. He is a workaholic. He said then that he would go on vacation, but he didn’t. He is really, devoted to his work as president),” he said.
In the past years since becoming president, Duterte devoted a part of the holidays with children and old people in his home province of Davao.
The President yesterday urged Filipinos, majority of whom Catholics, to follow the example of Jesus Christ’s mother, Mary, who embodied a life of “selfless service and devotion to her family and absolute faith in the Almighty” especially during trying times.
The President, in a message for Immaculate Conception Day yesterday, encouraged the Filipinos to draw inspiration from the life of Mother Mary, as they “work in solidarity to build a progressive, prosperous and inclusive nation.”
“May you be inspired by the Immaculate Conception to continue fostering peace and understanding among every citizen regardless of their faith or creed. It is my hope that you will remain committed in realizing genuine and lasting change so that everyone may attain their hopes and dreams,” Duterte added.
December 8 or the Immaculate Conception Day is a special non-working holiday in the Philippines.
