Headache prevents Duterte from campaigning

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — President Duterte failed to attend the grand campaign rally for his own party, the Partido ng Demokratikong Pilipino-Laban ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), because of a headache here on Friday night. 

Aside from the PDP-Laban rally, Duterte was also supposed to distribute certificates of land titles to beneficiaries of the agrarian reform program.

“The President is suffering from a headache, he’s indisposed today,” former special assistant to the president and senatorial candidate Christopher Go told journalists in Filipino after the rally at the Crocodile Park.

The President had a series of important engagements here in Davao City this weekend.

Among these engagements was a meeting with the national peace and order council on Thursday, wherein he released the names of politicians included in the so-called narcolist.

Earlier in the day, Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio represented her father at the distribution of certificates of land ownership to farmer-beneficiaries  in Barangay Marina.

Go said the President’s headache was nothing serious and nothing to worry about. He showed photos of the President having midnight snack and at the same time poring over some documents at their house.

All the senatorial candidates of the PDP-Laban attended the rally, held on the eve of the 82nd Araw ng Dabaw celebrations. 

Former House speaker Pantaleon Alvarez also attended the rally.

Aside from Go, senators Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Cynthia Villar and Sonny Angara were at the rally as well as  Pia Cayetano, Francis Tolentino, Dong Mangudadatu, former Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa and former interior secretary Rafael Alunan.