Go sends birthday greetings to Duterte

SEN. Bong Go expressed his support and concern for former president Rodrigo Duterte on his mentor's 80th birthday on Monday.

"On this day, I would like to extend my sincere prayers and support to Tatay Digong. He is a leader who has dedicated his entire life to the welfare of the Filipino people. Even today, we still feel his pain," said Go in Filipino.

In an interview during a campaign motorcade in Caloocan City on March 27, Go recounted how Duterte had made it a personal tradition to celebrate his birthday quietly with cancer patients.

"Former President Duterte used to give simple blowouts to cancer patients. He hardly misses them. Now he is gone. So, I will continue this. We will feed them. We have friends who also want to feed cancer patients," he said.

Go said the patients deeply miss Duterte. "Tatay Digong is a very simple person. He doesn't have any showmanship on his birthday. I remember, for the past 26 years, sometimes when we were in Smokey Mountain, he didn't throw a party, he didn't like to party. I also didn't have a party in the entire 26 years that I worked for him. I was embarrassed because he didn't throw a party," he said.

Instead, Go said he would focus his energies on engagements with the poor and vulnerable, Duterte's legacy of simplicity and compassion that he vowed to continue.