No presents for Duterte, but a motorbike would do

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte would still want to have a motorcycle as a Christmas present even if it caused him injuries and health troubles in the past. 

“None actually. I’ll tell you something. Ako, hindi ako magdadasal para sarili ko, para sa bayan ko na. So ako, kung ano lang ibigay. Kung pwede sana motor (I do not pray for myself but for my country. I will accept whatever is given to me. But if possible, I would want a motorcycle),” Duterte told m in an interview aired yesterday. 

The President was asked what gift he would like to receive for Christmas. 

The 74-year-old Duterte previously admitted suffering from migraine related to a spinal injury he sustained in a motorcycle accident in the 1960s. 

Last October, Duterte was forced to cut short his trip to Japan because of what officials described as “unbearable pain” in his lower back. Days before the trip, the President fell from his motorcycle at the Presidential Security Group compound.