Duterte sings ‘You Raise Me Up’ for Nanay Soling

President Rodrigo Duterte paid tribute to his mom Soledad "Soling" at the Christmas party with the Malacañang reporters, cameramen, and photographers as he belted out "You Raise Me Up," a song popularized by American singer Josh Groban.

Duterte in the middle of the song explained why he loved a certain verse. The verse did not appear on Groban's rendition, but English tenor Russell Watson

The certain line he was referring to was:

There is no life - no life without its hunger

Each restless heart beats so imperfectly

But when you come and I am filled with wonder

Sometimes, I think I glimpse eternity.

"It was the... parang comfort when my mother died. I was very close to my mom. So, matagal ako naka-recover. Pero ito ang gusto ko eh, 'There is no life - no life without its hunger,'" he said before singing the verse.

WATCH: Pres. Duterte sings, reminisces abt Mom during Christmas party with Malacañang Press Corps (and did he also giv Spoken Word a shot?) @gmanews pic.twitter.com/RLh8euMEP3

— Joseph Morong (@Joseph_Morong) December 12, 2017

This would be Duterte's sixth Christmas without his mom, who died in February 2012.

Right after he won by a landslide in the May 2016 elections, Duterte visited the grave of his parents and wept.  

His mom, also known as Nanay Soling, was a teacher who later led the Yellow Friday Movement in Davao against late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. —LBG, GMA News