Known for his penchant for long speeches, President Rodrigo Duterte closed 2016 by making his shortest remarks since he became Chief Executive—a short but compelling 2-minute, 38-second speech last Dec. 30.
Standing on the passenger side of a pickup truck while addressing a crowd in Hilongos, Leyte after a bombing there saw 33 people get hurt, Duterte assured residents that government security forces were already moving to ensure their safety.
“Let us wait and see, at least we are at the right place when we are entering a new phase in our country. Because if I didn’t became President, damn it—at least we won’t be beaten down,” the President said in his native Cebuano dialect at Hilongos District Hospital.
“So don’t worry, our security forces are already moving,” he added.
“Just trust me when I’m telling you that [police and military] will protect you. We’ll get rid of the problem,” Duterte said, referring to the terror threats.
Following the blasts Wednesday night, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana linked two recent bomb attacks to the terrorist Maute group and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, saying they had formed a tactical alliance to spread terror.
Lorenzana likewise noted that the explosion could have been carried out to divert the government’s intensified military operations against these groups.
While saying he could not say the reason why Leyte was bombed, Duterte said he believes the story of his military and police aides of Moro groups’ links to “turf wars.”
Duterte noted that his aides “won’t let him say too much” after visiting wounded residents in Hilongos. “I cannot say too much, they [his aides] won’t let me say something relevant,” the President said.
But as usual, he jested, saying: “I would like to ask forgiveness if I cannot here stay long, but if there’s a beautiful, single woman here, I can bring one or two of them to Davao. I’m not boasting.”
Before flying back to Davao to spend the New Year there, Duterte visited 26 survivors of the bombing at the hospital. He provided financial aid to all 33 bombing victims, and granted scholarships to graduating students who were among the victims.
