Begone, sycophants and favor seekers! That must be what’s on the mind of presumptive President Rodrigo Duterte, who, we’re told, is holed up in a mountain resort for now and has made himself temporarily incommunicado to de-stress from the brutal campaign season.
The tough-talking Davao mayor has certainly earned his moment of rest. But apparently many now see in his victory their own ticket to power and advantage.
Duterte’s one other reason for laying low for now—so we’ve heard—is to avoid the hordes of applicants, influence peddlers, business interests and sundry operators who’ve descended on Davao, booking the city’s hotels to capacity, in the hopes of getting an audience with the future Malacañang tenant.
Duterte has said he’ll ban his relatives from the Palace. The prohibition should extend to anyone trying to curry favor from him at the expense of the clean, reformist, pro-people agenda he’s promised.