With still four months left in office, President Rodrigo Duterte has started packing his things so he can leave Malacanang Palace before his term ends in June this year.
Duterte made the statement during his recorded talk to the people late Monday night, saying, “I should be out by March. I don’t want to be here before April.”
“I won’t sleep here. Whenever God takes me, I will start getting used to sleeping there,” he added.
Duterte’s term ends on June 30, 2022.
Instead of staying in his official residence in Malacañang compound, he said he plans to buy a two-bedroom condo in Manila and only visit the Palace for “day-to-day” activities.
Duterte and his family’s official residence is in Davao City.
“Once I leave this, I will have no place to live. I don’t have cousins because all of them are in America. So I don’t have a house here,” he said.
Duterte said he already told his common-law wife, Honeylet, to buy him a condo unit in Manila so he could hang out whenever he is in Manila.
The Chief Executive also said that he will wait for the day of the turnover or the presidential inauguration to invite the new President “for a talk at least, or tea.”
He then announced that he would soon give a speech to thank those who elected him president.
Duterte’s term started on June 30, 2016, following his inauguration as the 16th president of the Philippines, succeeding the late Benigno Aquino III. His term will end exactly six years later.
In December 2021, acting presidential spokesman Karlo Nograles said Duterte is going to enjoy the privileges of being a private citizen and spend more time with his family when his term ends in June.
He said Duterte’s decision to back out from the senatorial race will allow him to prioritize the country’s COVID-19 response and ensure peaceful, transparent, and fair national and local elections.
