Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — A day after making his controversial statement naming and linking active and retired police generals to illegal drugs, President Rodrigo Duterte was in Tagaytay City to visit the wake of the father of a former metro traffic czar.
Duterte was at the Our Lady of Lourdes Parish on Wednesday to condole with Francis Tolentino and his family. Before the elections, Tolentino was Chairman of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
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The President arrived around 4:45 p.m. and stayed for almost an hour.
During their conversation, Tolentino said he thanked the President for personally extending his condolences.
Asked if he was offered any role in the new administration, Tolentino said the topic didn’t come up.
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Duterte has not yet named a new MMDA chair and had previously said that he was thinking of giving Tolentino back his old post once the yearlong ban for candidates had expired. Tolentino failed to make it to the Senate’s Magic 12 in the last national elections.
During the campaign, Duterte had endorsed Tolentino’s senatorial run.
Tolentino also contributed P3 million for Duterte’s political ads.
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When the controversial “Playgirl” performance in Laguna hit the headlines last year, Duterte defended Tolentino and said the MMDA chief had the decency to resign in the wake of the controversy.
CNN Philippines’ Anjo Alimario contributed to this report.
