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.

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.