DILG: Baste won’t be asked to explain absence

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will not ask Davao Mayor Sebastian Duterte to explain his absence when a flood hit the city over the weekend.

“There’s no truth to this, as far as the DILG is concerned,” DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos said in a post on social media.

Abalos made the statement to clarify reports that the DILG would ask Duterte to explain why he was not around when heavy rainfall submerged the city’s Toril district.

He denied reports that Duterte has been summoned to explain his absence, saying there was no truth to reports about a request for an explanation.

Duterte was in Tacloban on Sunday along with his father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, to attend the local fiesta.

The mayor was reportedly on official leave on the day the flood hit the city.