TACLOBAN CITY”•“Change” came to President Rodrigo Duterte during his return to Tacloban to grace the city’s 129th fiesta celebration and to pay respects to the six junior police officers who were killed in a misencounter with soldiers on June 25 in Santa Rita, Samar.
“The progress we see today is a testament [to] the resilience, unity and hope of the Taclobanons, which have been tried and tested by various challenges faced in the past years,” Duterte said during the city’s Sangyaw Festival at the Balyuan Amphitheater on June 29.
Known for his long and expletive-laden speeches, the 73-year-old firebrand was apparently not on his “typical public personae” when he waxed nostalgic over the 2013 Super Typhoon Yolanda that killed over 6,000 people in the city.
While he threw occasional playful remarks and flatteries to the audience and the local officials led by Mayor Cristina Romualdez, Duterte finished his speech without using expletives that have become the hallmark of his public engagements.
“I do not want to remind you of the sorrow and agony. But I’d like to tell you that the day after, I was here and it was one of the saddest days [of] my life,” Duterte said.
Duterte, who was mayor of Davao City during the onslaught of Yolanda, was among the first responders when the world’s strongest storm flattened Tacloban and the surrounding municipalities.
“I never saw such magnitude… I was bleeding inside my heart,” Duterte said.
Duterte, who was born in Maasin, Southern Leyte, said he was confident that Tacloban “will continue to be a vibrant and thriving local community in your region.”
“More than just a display of your exuberance and dynamism, may the Sangyaw Festival of Lights further highlight the unwavering spirit of the Filipinos and inspire everyone to use the lessons of the past as the source of strength and hope as we make and realize our goals and aspirations of our country,” Duterte said.
He said he was surprised that Leyte “almost was back on its feet.
“And the skyline was more pleasant to see. More buildings and all,” he said.
Meanwhile, the President asked the audience to be wary of what his critics had said against him.
“Do not believe in the stories naround my persona because that’s me. Once in a while I shake the tree,” Duterte said.
Now in his second year in Malacañang, Duterte continues to be criticized here and abroad over his deadly campaign against illegal drugs that human rights groups say have killed thousands.
The Roman Catholic church leaders and the Filipino conservative majority have also hit Duterte, who is a Catholic, over his recent “God is stupid” statement.
