Rody mobbed in Greenbelt 5

DAVAO CITY – If there is one thing President Duterte misses most since assuming as the country’s Chief Executive, it is to live an ordinary life, going anywhere he likes, any time he wants.

But going to the mall is one luxury the Presidential Security Group (PSG) cannot afford to give the President as often as he likes.

Last Saturday night, just after gracing an early dinner for the participants of the 51st annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank held at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel, Duterte decided to go to Greenbelt 5 in Makati to buy a watch.

Sources said it was a spur-of-themoment thing that the President decided to drop by Greenbelt at around 6:30 p.m.

Upon reaching the mall, Duterte was mobbed by the young and old—men, women and children who had to be carried on their parents’ shoulders just to have a glimpse. If they got lucky, they could have a selfie with the President.

Even foreigners, who were also at Greenbelt 5 at the time, jostled with Filipinos to get a selfie with Duterte.

“It was like pandemonium and people really couldn’t get enough of the President. They mobbed him, some kissed him on the cheek while others just went crazy and tried just to get near him,” the STAR source said.

The President, according to the source, was kind enough to accommodate the shoppers who wanted to get a selfie with him.

Videos posted on social media by netizens who were in the area showed how the PSG personnel and even the guards of Ayala Mall scrambled to secure the President. Some videos also showed Duterte pulling several people to his side so they could get a picture with him.

It could have been a nightmare for his security men who had to follow him as he went around the mall for about 30 minutes, struggling hard to get him out of the crowd as more people milled around when they heard that the President was also around.