Duterte: I dress myself to be comfortable

President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday explained why neat and tidy suit-and-ties and long-sleeved Barongs have not always been his first choice of clothing.

During a speech in Davao City, Duterte addressed the wardrobe criticism he had received like being "sloppy" or informal.

"Barong. Sloppy daw ako. Anak ng...I call it gusot masa 'yan," comparing his style to gusot-mayaman, which is usually used to describe office Barongs.

"You know, I dress not to please anybody. I dress myself to be comfortable. Kaya bihira akong mag-Amerikana. One, is that it's not an attire for the Filipino. Mainit 'yang yawa na 'yan...In summer or winter, it's really very hot," the President said.

"I am there presiding not to please any state figure. To please the prime ministers and the president. Of course not. I go there and I want to please myself, dito ako komportable," he added, citing the recently concluded 21st Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit.

Nonetheless, Duterte praised the allure of the traditional Filipino attire.

Duterte said he folds his Barong sleeves up the way former President Fidel V. Ramos did.

"He folds it to a three-fourth. Eh 'di ako rin. Kasi kung mahaba, mahirap maggalaw. Magigisi...Sometimes, it's too tight," he said.

The President even shared a humorous childhood story where he visited a wake and his Barong had the same embroidered pattern as the dead.

Duterte gave a speech at the launch of the partnership between the Department of Agriculture and Ayala Malls in Davao City led by Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol.

"So these are vignettes of life, I would call it. And it really makes your persona. Pero we really work hard, kami ni Manny, for the country," Duterte said. —Margaret Claire Layug/ALG, GMA News