On a night his ex-Cabinet members serenaded him for the first time since stepping down from Malacañang, former President Rodrigo Duterte, despite his self-confessed failing health, did not disappoint.
In a reunion dubbed "Night of the Singing Ex-Cabinet Members," Duterte returned the favor by singing his favorite George Canseco song, Ikaw which he had rendered in both public and private gatherings before during his presidency.
The crowd at Dusit Thani's RJ Bistro erupted into a frenzy amid chants of "Duterte! Duterte!" even as the 77-year-old former president turned nostalgic and recalled the times he had with officials of his administration who organized the gathering.
"This is about a reunion of those men and women who were with me in my journey to the presidency for six years. As there is always a time for everything. A time to start, (and also) a time to retire," he said.
Duterte confessed about his failing health and how he thanked God for making him president at a time when he was old enough to make wise, Solomonic decisions.
The man who waged an unprecedented war on drugs during his incumbency said he has no regrets whatsoever. He even sang, for his finale, Richard Harris' now classic, MacArthur Park with the help of his long-time presidential assistant now Senator Christopher "Bong" Go.
"I will take my life into my hands and I will use it. I will win the worship in their eyes and I will lose it" Duterte went fittingly full throttle with the song as the crowd seemingly got enthralled with the lyrics that fit perfectly with the way the former president governed.
In response, his Cabinet members underscored the ties they shared with the former President singing: "Those were the days my friend, we thought would never end." They then sent off their former boss with a song that they thought fitted him best as they sang "My Way." Duterte, as is his wont, had quietly slipped away from the revelry and faded into the night.
