Duterte spending Christmas in Davao
Like any other family-oriented Filipino, President Duterte will be celebrating Christmas with his loved ones in his hometown Davao City, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo confirmed.
"Sa Davao, every Christmas naman ganoon siya (He will be in Davao. He's like that every Christmas). Or birthdays, he spends it with his family always. No frills," he said Friday.
Panelo also said that Duterte will unlikely skip his tradition of visiting cancer-stricken kids in hospitals.
"Palagi namang ganun ang style ni Presidente, handicapped. Dun mababaw ang puso ni Presidente sa mga handicapped, sa mga special children, may sakit ng cancer, dun mo makita ang kanyang compassion (He's always been like that. That's his soft side... the handicapped, kids with special needs or with cancer. That's where you see his compassion). He sheds tears every time," he said.
Last year, Duterte, minus the prying eyes of the media, visited several public hospitals and hospices in Manila where he extended financial assistance to institutions that primarily serve abandoned or indigent children.
The institutions Duterte visited last year were the Mary Johnston Hospital in Tondo, Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital in Sta. Cruz, and Hospicio de San Jose near Malacañang Palace.
According to Malacañang, the unannounced activities were part of the Duterte’s annual Christmas tradition that dates back when he was still mayor of Davao City.
It has been the President’s tradition during his stint in Davao to visit and distribute Christmas gifts to cancer-stricken children.
During his first Christmas as President, Duterte visited the Southern Philippines Medical Center and House of Hope located in his hometown where he gamely posed for selfies, talked with staff and patients, distributed gifts to children and even carried babies.