Davao City — It wasn’t
exactly the kind of reaction you get from somebody known for tough talk and who
even carries the menacing moniker of “The Punisher.”
Incoming
president Rodrigo Duterte said on Saturday that there was no way he would stay
at the Malacañang Palace during his six-year term because the presidential
residence is inhabited by “mumo,” or ghosts.
Sharing
a conversation he had with Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos, a recent visitor
to this city and a former resident of Malacañang where their family stayed for
21 years during the time of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Duterte said he
asked her if the Palace was indeed haunted.
Marcos
may have only been joking when she answered in the affirmative, but it was
enough to convince Duterte that he didn’t want to mess with the rumored ghosts
at the Palace by the Pasig River.
“May
prejudice ako sa Malacañang. Talagang may mumo dyan (I really harbor prejudice
against staying in Malacanang. There are ghosts there,” he told amused media
men, and his guests that included boxing legend and Senator-elect Manny
Pacquiao, former running mate and Senator Alan Peter Cayetano and his sister,
former Senator Pia Cayetano, and Duterte’s peace adviser Jess Dureza.
As
such, Duterte averred that he “might go home (to Davao) every day.” “Nandito
ang kama ko. Yung kwarto ko. Ang comfort zone ko, nandito lahat (My bed is
here, so is my bed and my comfort zone. They’re all here),” he said.
Duterte
pointed out that it would just be a matter of managing his schedule that would
allow him to catch the 8 a.m. flight to Manila where he would arrive at around
9:30 a.m.
After
pouring through reports and signing documents, he said he would be ready to
report for work at 1 p.m. He can then knock off at 9 p.m., in time for the last
flight back to Davao.
“My
day (at work) will start at 1 p.m.” he said. And when he arrives back in Davao
at around 11 p.m., Duterte said he would just need a few hours to freshen up,
“to brush my teeth and wash up,” before he could accommodate more official
guests presumably at the Malacañang in the south.
“What
would be very important would be my military aide because he would be able to
give me updates every once in a while,” he noted.
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