Former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte was finally conferred with the Datu Bago Award.
The award is meant to recognize individuals who made great social and cultural contributions to Davao City and its development.
Wednesday’s conferment of the 52nd Datu Bago Awards held at the Arcadia Event Center paid homage to the former president’s stewardship of Davao City which spanned three decades, as well as his governance of the country during his term as its highest official.
Councilor Pilar Braga, chair of the Datu Bago Foundation’s Board of Trustees, said Duterte was made the recipient of this year’s conferment as the former president refused any award when he was still an active statesman.
“He’s not just modest about it. It really comes from his belief that whatever we may have achieved as a city during his multiple terms, he did not do it himself– it is always a collective effort of the people of Davao City,” she said.
Recalling Duterte’s long and illustrious career as the leader of Davao City, Braga called Duterte “a true original” whose phenomenal leadership “held the country together during the pandemic” and destroyed drug cartels operating in the country.
“His leadership proved to be tougher than the virus and even tougher than the drug lords,” the councilor said.
Vice Mayor J Melchor Quitain received the award on Duterte’s behalf and read a message from the latter’s son and now Mayor Sebastian Duterte. CIO
