DAVAO CITY, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – President-elect Mayor Rodrigo Duterte promises to be a head of state like no other, defying age-old traditions in Philippine politics.

Not only is he the first Philippine president to be proclaimed in absentia, skipping Monday’s ceremonial Congressional coronation of the winning presidential and vice presidential candidates; he also refuses to live in Malacañang, the presidential palace.  Instead, he has indicated that he wants to move the seat of national government from Manila to his hometown of Davao City.

Now, Duterte is also reportedly planning to totally scrap SONA, the annual State of the Nation Address of the president of the Philippines (akin to the U.S. State of the Union Address).

In an exclusive interview with The Adobo Chronicles, Duterte says his actions will speak for themselves. “I do not need to report on the state of the nation; the Filipino people will see and feel the progress we will have made in their daily lives.”

Duterte added: “The people are tired of rhetorical speeches made by past presidents during the SONA.  Those speeches are nothing but sugar-coated laundry lists of pseudo accomplishments, adorned with enhanced charts and doctored figures, just to make the president look good to the nation and to the world.”

The mayor also criticized SONA as a unnecessary spectacle that focuses on the lives of the rich and famous, obviously referring to the red carpet ceremony that precedes each SONA.

So far, the ordinary Filipinos have agreed with Duterte on scrapping the SONA and the red carpet. Except for the fashion designers who will lose one major venue to showcase their creations.

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – It was supposed to be a day of immense celebration as the Joint Session of the Senate and House of Representatives prepared to proclaim Rodrigo Duterte and Leni Robredo as the duly elected president and vice president of the Philippines in the May 9 elections.

But the occasion was marred by a very strong statement by President NoyNoy Aquino who declared Robredo as a ‘persona non grata.’

Congresswoman Robredo was the Liberal Party’s (LP) candidate for the office of the vice president. She ran in tandem with Aquino’s anointed successor Mar Roxas who lost the presidential contest to Davao City Mayor Duterte.

Aquino’s declaration resulted from Robredo’s attire during the proclamation proceedings. Instead of the trademark yellow color, the VP-elect wore a black and beige-colored dress. “It’s  in total disregard for the administration and the LP’s  symbol,” Aquino said.

The outgoing president was visibly upset at the sight of Robredo’s dress, saying it was ungrateful for the VP-elect to do wear it, especially after the Aquino administration and the Yellow Party spent so much time and resources to help the Congresswoman’s electoral campaign.

The ever-gracious Robredo, after hearing of Aquino’s statement, said she was sorry to have upset the president but noted that she is now the newly-elected VP of the country and not just of the Liberal Party.