Panelo: Duterte lacks sleep but is fine

DAVAO CITY , Philippines  —  Amid persistent rumors that President Duterte is ailing, his spokesman Salvador Panelo said yesterday that the Chief Executive merely lacked sleep and therefore opted not to hand out diplomas to the graduates of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) in Baguio City.

Panelo said the President pored over voluminous documents, department reports and papers to be signed until 6:30 a.m. on Sunday.

Duterte then had to fly from Davao City to Baguio at 8:30 a.m. for the PMA graduation rites, giving him barely two hours sleep, Panelo said.

The President arrived two hours late for the occasion at the PMA.

Duterte has been honest about his being a night person and that his day usually starts at 1 or 2 p.m. and then he works until the wee hours.

That was why the President was struggling to be awake when he attended the graduation ceremony.

Instead, the President asked Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana to hand out the diplomas, which traditionally should be done by the Chief Executive. 

“By the time he delivered his speech he was already his usual alert, impassioned and assertive self. He made some mischievous remarks to make people laugh,” Panelo said.

Panelo likewise assured the people the President is in good health and robust enough to travel to Japan.

“To the people who wish him to be seriously ill, they will be disappointed,” Panelo said.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde also came to the defense of Duterte over his rape joke during the PMA graduation rites.

“That’s an obvious joke in fairness to the President,” Albayalde said.

When he signed a pardon for administrative offenses of PMA cadets, a tradition for the President being the guest of honor and speaker, Duterte joked that among the cases is rape.

Sought for comment, Albayalde told reporters that Duterte only probably wants the audience to laugh.

Asked if rape jokes are acceptable in the PMA, Albayalde said: “That’s the President of the Republic. Kung ganun sya mapagbiro then hindi

naman natin sya puwedeng pagsabihan siguro kung ano ang dapat niyang sabihin at hindi (If that’s how he jokes, he is the President and we cannot tell him what to say).”

Albayalde gave assurance that cadets who commit rape and grave offenses are not pardoned under the rules of the academy.

What are pardoned are minor offenses such as excess demerits, which include going to unauthorized areas and going to the field with dirty shoes.

Offenders are usually slapped with touring hour penalties, meaning cadets have to march at the academy grounds for several hours.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Benjamin Madrigal Jr. welcomed the 261 new PMA graduates to the military service and reminded them of the challenges in the real world that they will face as soldiers.

“From here onwards, they will immerse in the communities and be given the chance to address the persisting problems and root causes of conflict in the country, many of which can change their perspective, present them with hard choices and, in some cases, sacrifice their lives,” he said yesterday.

Madrigal said the AFP proudly welcomes into the regular force the members of PMA Mabalasik Class who have endured at least four years of training.

“Being an alumnus myself, I am confident that the academy has prepared each one of them to be ‘fleet-ready, field-ready and squadron-ready’,” he said. 

He noted that the unfolding chapter of their careers would be full of challenges that will test their mettle, as well as opportunities for further learning. 

“In all these, I hope that they will never forget the Honor Code and the character that was built upon them and ‘hold the trust long after they have left the long gray line’,” he said. 

Ultimately, Madrigal advised that in the face of the hardest of challenges to their life, dignity and integrity, the new soldiers would be guided by the PMA’s core values of selfless service, honor and excellence. With Emmanuel Tupas, Michael Punongbayan