Duterte to spend Valentine’s Day with kids

Thursday, February 9, 2012

VICE Mayor Rodrigo Duterte will be spending the Valentine’s Day with his children and parents, saying the day of hearts is best spent with people he “gives life to and who gave him life.”

"Valentines is for the people you love and for the people who love you. Especially anak, nothing can compare my love to the people whom I gave life and who gave me life," Duterte said.

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This year will, however, be the first time Duterte would be spending his Valentines without his mother, Nanay Soling, who passed away last week.

"I have yet to get my equanimity. Medyo off guard pa ko karon. Maybe because sa mama nako," Duterte said.

The vice mayor also took the chance to apologize to their relatives and friends who were not invited to the funeral service of the Duterte matriarch. He said this is because his mother requested that she be buried within 24 hours.

"Dili gusto ug self-aggrandizement akong mama. Hilasan sya ug purihon sya. Ang iyang bilin is kung mamatay sya gusto nya simple lang. Iyang gipangayo 24 hours i-cremate na sya (My mother asked that when she dies, she be cremated within 24 hours. She doesn’t like self-aggrandizement)," Duterte said.

"Unta nasabtan ko sa among mga paryente. Dili sya gusto ug memorials. Gusto nya tanawon iyang trabaho. Dili pud ko ganahan musulti sa iyang legacy kay anak ko. Mahilasan pud ko (I hope my relatives understand me. My mom doesn’t like memorials. She wants to be remembered through her works)," he added.

Taking off from his mother's request, Duterte said he also wanted the same when he dies.

"When I die, forget me, do not talk about me. Magluhod-luhod ka diha, patiran hinuon tika. I need no praises, no adulation,” he said. "You want to show how you adore me, do it during my lifetime so I can feel it. Do not do it when I die."