DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 16 December) — Home is where the heart is and longtime Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte, now 18 months as President of the Philippines, relieved himself of the burdens of the Presidency in an 11-song 43-minute concert that started at 12:28 a.m. Saturday and ended 43 minutes later.
At the Christmas party with the Davao media late Friday night until the early hours of Saturday outside the Presidential Guest House in Panacan, Duterte started what would become an impromptu concert with the George Caseco-composed song, “Ikaw,” originally sang by Martin Nievera, and ended with Richard Harris’ “Didn’t we?”
After the first song, he obliged a request to sing “Balud sa Kapalaran” (Wave of Destiny), a favorite Cebuano song he sometimes sings a capella, although prefaced it as “a very sad song” and followed it with Bette Midler’s “Some say Love,” and John Denver’s “Seasons of the Heart.”
The audience didn’t mind even if he sang off key at times.
The nocturnal President also sang “Send in the Clowns,” “Fill the World with Love,” and The Fifth Dimension’s “If I could reach you” released in 1972, the year he finished Law at the San Beda College.
For his eight song, Duterte sang “To all the girls I’ve loved before,” before doing “Mona Lisa” as a duet with a female singer, then went solo again for “MacArthur’s Park,” and ended with “Didn’t we?”
On December 12, at the Christmas party with the Malacañang Press Corps (MPC) alos belted out a few songs and danced as well. (Carolyn O. Arguillas)
