MANILA, Philippines – Citing “pressing matters,” Malacañang on Wednesday, January 22, announced President Rodrigo Dutertes’s one-on-one interview with Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo would be postponed to a later date.

The interview will instead take place on Tuesday, January 28. 

Over an hour after it was supposed to take place, reporters were sent a message at 6:24 pm that the “tete-a-tete” would no longer push through. It was orginally scheduled at 5 pm and was later moved to 6 pm. 

“Due to pressing matters, the tête-à-tête part 2 of President Rodrigo Duterte and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel and Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo has been moved to January 28, 2020,” Media Relations Assistant Secretary Kris Roman said. 

Asked why Duterte was unable to carry out the interview, former presidential-aide and now Senator Bong Go said “pressing matters (family).” 

Panelo denied postponing the one-on-one interview was related to Duterte’s health as he repeated Duterte was attending to pressing matters and was “with his family at BP (Bahay Pagbabago).”

Promising a wide-ranging discussion on issues of “national concern and national interest,” Malacañang had advertised the interview as a sequel to Duterte and Panelo’s “tete-a-tete” held September 2018. – Rappler.com