Quiboloy on Duterte: I have a dream
Malacanang to buy P1.8M lawn mower to spruce up Palace grounds for Duterte
Rodrigo Duterte had said during the campaign he would rather commute daily to Manila from his humble Davao base than live in gilded Malacanang.
Even then the Palace factotums are not taking any chances should the incoming president change his mind, making sure the Malacanang complex and golf course are spruced up for the next administration.
For instance, the Office of the President has set aside a P1.77- million budget to acquire a brand- new lawn mower, more expensive than a top-end Toyota Innova, to cut the grass on the country’s most exclusive lawn and golf course.
Unlike President Benigno Aquino III, Duterte is a golf enthusiast, even leading a delegation from Davao City to Labuan, Malaysia in late 2014 for the East ASEAN Growth Area Friendship Games.
And if you believe Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, the proDuterte preacher and campaign contributor had already seen in his dream almost two decades ago the favorite son of Davao hitting the Malacanang green.
As to the lawn mower, Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs Mildred Yovela Umali- Hermogenes was economical with the specifications for the May 19 bidding.
According to the grapevine, the Malacanang Engineering Office, which had requisitioned the machine, currently uses a “Toro” brand riding mower for both the golf course and the Palace grounds.
In addition to the lawn mower, the Office of the President has ordered the repainting of 18 Nissan Patrol and Super Safari SUVs being used by the Presidential Security Group, setting aside P2.3 million, or P127,777 per vehicle, for the paint job.
This week, Palace staffers also ordered a replacement ice- making machine ( P260,000) and a five- ton, floormounted, package type air-conditioner (P308,760) for the “cold kitchen,” after earlier requisitioning six such aircon units for the Mabini Hall.
As well, ten air-curtains for the various doors of the palace, to keep flies, mosquitoes and other unwanted insects out, were acquired.
Unlike in 2010 when the Arroyo administration allotted a little over P28 million for the maintenance and operation of Malacanang grounds and facilities, the parsimonious Aquino administration has set aside P97 million for capital outlays and another P298 million for repairs and maintenance of the Palace complex for the 2016 transition year.
And just to make sure the welcome message does not get lost in transmission, PNoy himself, breaking protocol, talked to Duterte’s executive assistant to relay the message to the incoming president. According to Malacanang, this was what PNoy said: “I talked to (Duterte’s executive assistant) Bong Go to relay to Mayor Duterte that an administrative order is being drafted designating the Executive Secretary as head of the transition team.”
“I further offered that the Cabinet stands ready to brief his team on any and all of their concerns. Lastly, we are committed to effecting the smoothest transition possible.”
Why it had to take the President, rather than Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., to initiate a phone call to a Duterte aide, and not to Duterte himself, to relay the equivalent of a Malacanang peace offering was not explained by the Palace.
Heard through the grapevine
Kim chi and bibimbap could soon become a staple fare at the US Embassy.
A career Korean-American diplomat is being tipped to succeed current US Ambassador to the Philippines, Philip S. Goldberg, after having served his three-year term by year-end.
Currently, there are two Korean- Americans in the US foreign service, both regional experts, who would fit that description: Ambassador to Malaysia Joseph Yun and US Special Representative for North Korea Policy Sung Kim.