Duterte to address nation Thursday night

President Rodrigo Duterte will address the nation on Thursday night to discuss what transpired during his meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, earlier this week, Malacañang said.

"May Talk to the People po ang Pangulo mamayang gabi kaya siya na po ang magsasabi kung ano ang napag-usapan nila," presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said during a briefing when asked to provide details on the Duterte-Putin meeting held Tuesday.

(The President will have his Talk to the People tonight so he will be the one to discuss what he and President Putin talked about.)

The Philippines is expecting to receive at least 20 million doses of Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V, which has a 91% efficacy rate based on the evaluation of the Philippine Food and Drug Administration. But there is no delivery date yet.

Roque, during the briefing, dismissed critics of the President’s decision to deliberately disengage from public activities for two weeks.

“Wala kayong magagagwa, iyon ang paniniwala ng Presidente. Hayaan na po ‘yan,” Roque said.

“Istilo po ni Presidente ‘yun. Kanya-kanyang estilo tayo,” he added.

(You can't do anything about it. That is how the President sees it. Let it be. That's his style. To each his own.) —KBK, GMA News