Go to tap Duterte as legal adviser

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Bong Go has asked President Duterte to be his legal adviser after Duterte steps down from office on June 30.

Go said the President has acceded to his request in what could be a switching of roles as the senator was a close aide to the outgoing leader for over 20 years, from 1998 to 2018 when Duterte was still mayor of Davao City until the first two years of his presidency.

“I said, ‘Mr. President, may I tap you to be, at least, my consultant?’ He agreed to be a legal consultant,” Go told reporters in Filipino on the sidelines of the inauguration of vice president-elect Sara Duterte in Davao City on Sunday.

Go said being his legal consultant is one of the options Duterte is considering as the President may be offered “high positions” after he leaves office.

After Duterte was elected in 2016, he gave Go the title of special assistant to the President, which he held until he was elected senator in 2019.

“Knowing the President, his body is always looking to work. It’s (working) in his DNA,” Go said.

He said even as a private citizen, the 77-year- old Duterte is expected to speak out on certain issues and “give advice and help in some way because he loves our country.”

Duterte earlier said even after he steps down from office, he would still be waging the campaign against illegal drugs.

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea earlier said the President was considering becoming a teacher after he leaves Malacañang.

Meanwhile, returning senator Alan Peter Cayetano expressed hope that Duterte will play the role of “elder statesman” to help the country recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and confront worrisome geopolitical developments.

“I hope the President will continue to be our elder statesman. We still really need President Duterte even if he no longer has any position,” Cayetano said in Filipino and English in a video posted on social media.