By Charissa M. Luci-Atienza
The resignation of presidential son Paolo Duterte showed that there is still delicadeza in public service, House leaders said yesterday.
Quezon City Rep. Winston “Winnie” Castelo and Parañaque City Rep. Gus Tambunting took note of young Duterte’s decision to relinquish his post as Davao City’s vice mayor.
“The resignation shows there is still delicadeza in public service. We hope the President will evaluate the resignation with only the good of the City of Davao in mind and not political pressure from the opposition,” Castelo, chairman of the House Committee on Metro Manila Development, said.
Duterte resigned effective immediately on December 25, citing R6.4-billion shabu smuggling controversy, his failed marriage with Lovelie Sankola-Sumera, and his word war with his daughter Isabelle.
For his part, Tambunting, chairman of the House Committee on Games and Amusement, said “I respect the decision of Vice Mayor Duterte. It is his prerogative if he believes his resignation is in the best interest of his family.
Let the legal succession take its course so the functioning of Davao City will not be stalled.”
But, MAGDALO partylist Rep. Gary Alejano said Duterte’s resignation “will not mitigate the suffering and death of the people of Davao and other places due to flooding and fire.”
“It will not divert the fact that while the Duterte family claims that they are poor and simple, Isabelle showed the opposite through an ostentatious display of wealth and power,” he said.
For her part, Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) party-list Rep. France Castro said Duterte “should have resigned when he was first linked to the Davao group and the smuggling of the R6.4 billion shabu.”
She said Duterte’s resignation will not free him from answering strings of allegations hurled against him.