Duterte to skip proclamation, see well-wishers instead

MANILA - Incoming President Rodrigo Duterte will not make a last-minute change of plan to attend his proclamation as the 16th Philippine President, according to incoming presidential peace adviser Jesus Dureza.

"Bakit ayaw n'yo maniwala, sinabi na niyang ayaw niyang pumunta? Sabi niya I have been in office for many, many terms, hindi naman ako nag-a-attend ng proclamation," Dureza said in an interview with ANC's "Dateline Philippines."

Dureza said Duterte will instead stay in Davao City to receive his well-wishers.

"He wants to stay in Davao. Tingnan mo lang pila ng tao dito, many of these are people coming from all over the Philippines," he said.

The incoming peace adviser also stressed that many of Duterte's well wishers are not politicians but common people who merely want to share his victory.

"Sabi pa ng iba, pumupunta [ang mga tao] kasi nagbabalimbing, nanghihingi ng puwesto. Hindi e, maraming kausap ko, they just want to meet the presumptive President," he said.

"They feel that they have ownership over his victory and they want to savor that with him. Kaya the President Rody has been spending a lot of time, up to early dawn, attending to all these."

Duterte announced Sunday that he will not attend the proclamation because he has always skipped such events during his seven terms as mayor of Davao City.

READ: Duterte says he'll skip his own proclamation

Veteran election lawyer Romulo Macalintal earlier urged Duterte to rethink his plans of missing the event, saying that the proclamation is an age-old tradition that the incoming president should honor.

"Although it is not mandatory for the winner to be personally present, his presence will show his reverence and respect to the Congress of the Philippines which is mandated by law to canvass the results and proclaim the winners for president and vice president," Macalintal said.

Macalintal said Duterte's attendance will also make his voters happy.

Duterte urged: Respect voters, attend proclamation

Vice president apparent, Leni Robredo has confirmed that she will attend the proclamation.

Duterte won the 2016 presidential race with 16,601,997 votes, while Robredo got 14,418,817 votes for the vice presidential polls.