The Philippine Star

Davao taxi driver sounds exactly like Rody

- By JANVIC MATEO

A video of a taxi driver in Davao City went viral online last week for his spoton imitation of President Duterte speaking.

“Pag sinabi ko gawin ko, gawin ko talaga,” taxi driver Elcias Bugsad said in perfect imitation of Duterte, to the amusement of his passenger Rachelle Dequina.

“When I say stop, that is S-T-O-P. You must stop. Or else magkagulo talaga,” he continued.

Bugsad went on for over eight minutes, delivering a torrent of remarks reminiscen­t of the President.

“Masakit ang dibdib ko mag-isip ng problema ng bansa natin. Basta ako I will do my best, I will perform my duty that stood upon my

shoulder. To protect and to tell the Filipino people if they are in danger. That is my duty,” he said.

“Corruption, even ilang milyon pa yan ilagay mo sa harap ko, ilang maleta pa yan, hindi ako masilaw dyan. Ang problema ko ‘pag magandang babae sa harapan ko, masilaw man ako. That is my weakness,” added the taxi driver.

Since Dequina posted the video on Facebook last Friday, it has been viewed over nine million times. It has also gathered over 184,000 reactions, 117,000 shares and 26,000 comments.

She said Bugsad started imitating Duterte when she asked about the calibratio­n of the taxi meter during their trip on Thursday night.

Presidenti­al spokesman Harry Roque said he was delighted by Bugsad’s imitation of the President.

“I really like him (Bugsad) and he provides entertainm­ent and inspiratio­n to our countrymen,” Roque said.

According to ABS-CBN News, Bugsad worked in Saudi Arabia and Qatar as a company driver before he started driving a taxi in Davao City 10 years ago.

He said he started imitating Duterte, a long-time mayor of Davao City before his election as President, back when he still appeared on his local program Gikan sa Masa Para sa Masa.

It was not the first time that a taxi driver has gone viral on social media because of the President.

A photo of Ponciano Veronas, who is also from Davao, went viral last year after a netizen posted his image that showed an uncanny resemblanc­e to the President.

Incidental­ly, Duterte is known for driving a taxi in Davao City back when he was still mayor.

 ??  ?? Photo from Honeylet Avanceña’s Twitter account shows President Duterte spending time with daughter Kitty at his Davao City home the other night.
Photo from Honeylet Avanceña’s Twitter account shows President Duterte spending time with daughter Kitty at his Davao City home the other night.
 ??  ?? Facebook image shows Davao City taxi driver Elcias Bugsad, whose Duterte impersonat­ion video has gone viral.
Facebook image shows Davao City taxi driver Elcias Bugsad, whose Duterte impersonat­ion video has gone viral.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Philippines