The ties that bind
UNKNOWN to many in Davao City that as Davao City Mayor Sara Z. Duterte-Carpio was giving birth at the Davao Doctors Hospital to her second son last Thursday, March 2, 2017, another son was being born, the grandson of Presidential Adviser on Peace Process Secretary Jesus G. Dureza.
"MR. PRESIDENT, AKALA MO IKAW LANG! SABAY DIN NEW APO KO AT DAVAO DOCS HOSPITAL -- What a coincidence or fated lang talaga: Both grandmas are named Elizabeth; my eldest son Jesus Jay Dureza Jr. and Pulong Duterte born same time; now new apos are born same time, all at Davao Doc Hosp . Another Jesus! Welcome to the world, Cristiano Jesus," Dureza wrote in his Facebook account as she shared photos of the baby at the Davao Doctors Hospital.
The new grandson is the second child of Dureza's youngest, Kristel, who is married to Arman Valencia. Their eldest is 8-year-old Kristan.
The ties between the two men are strong with the son of another daughter of Dureza, Ning Dureza-Uy, having been named Jerod for Jesus and Rodrigo, Dureza said.
Dureza and President Rodrigo R. Duterte come a long way; from high school at the Holy Cross of Digos Academy Boys Department (now Cor Jesus College) from 1961 to 1963, after Duterte was expelled from the Mindanao Colleges (now University of Mindanao) halfway through his third year in academic year 1960-1961, for skipping classes for months.
Duterte was enrolled at the Holy Cross as an "interna" or stay-in student because that was the condition set by the Sacred Heart brothers who were asked to set the young Duterte to right. There, he shared living space with Dureza, who was also an interna but for a very different reason. Dureza was a working scholar.
Duterte was supposed to be in the batch of Dure- za for the 1961-62 graduates, where Dureza was the class valedictorian. He was made to stay on to finish some back subjects and so joined the graduation of Brother Karl Gaspar, CSsR in 1963. Gaspar was the class valedictorian then.