Christopher “Bong” Go: The Man Always Present In All Of President Duterte's Activities

Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Tesoro Go is the current Head of the Presidential Management Staff in the Philippines. He was appointed by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to replace Julia Abad. He is an Executive Assistant and Personal Aide of President Duterte since 1998.

Bong Go was born on June 14, 1974. He is the grandson of August Tesoro, whose father founded one of the largest printing press in Davao City. He attended De La Salle University and graduated with a Management degree.

Since 1998, Bong Go has been an Executive Assistant and Personal Aide of then-Mayor of Davao City Rodrigo Duterte. Being in charge of both personal and official matters, he calls himself as an all-around utility man of President Duterte.

During the 2016 election campaign season, Bong Go was often described as the “National Photobomber” by the media, for being always in the photos at the side of then-Mayor Duterte in his campaign sorties. He is one of the key people in Duterte’s campaign for Presidency.

On October 15, 2015, Bong Go, wearing a shirt which says No is No, Duterte’s Certificate of Candidacy (COC) on then-Mayor Duterte’s behalf at the Comelec office in Manila, for a re-election bid for the Davao City Mayoralty post.

According to him, he called Aquilino Pimentel III, the President of Duterte’s political party, PDP-Laban, to file his candidacy for President that can help then-Mayor Duterte for possible substitution and provide hope for his fans.

According to Pimentel, it had been decided that Martin Diño, the Chairman of Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC), would file his candidacy as Pimentel was about to board a plane to Switzerland at that time.

Bong Go served as a campaign sortie manager of then-Mayor Duterte. He is also a basketball enthusiast.

If ever President Duterte bioflick were made (which is not really far-fetched, his life story being as colorful as, if not more so than that of any showbiz star), there should be a side story about Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, the man present in all of the presidential activities.

He’s just there, he doesn’t talk, he doesn’t do anything at all, he’s just being there, silent and stoic, and not expressing any emotion at all, neither smiling nor laughing nor reacting accordingly to whatever the situation is. 

He’s the shadow beside and behind President Duterte, like a statue that catches your attention even if he doesn’t intend, or perhaps want to.

There’s a Pambansang this and Pambansang that, and because he’s always photographed with President Duterte all the time, any time, Bong Go has been fondly called Pambansang Photobomber (PB) which is how he is identified in an article by Betina Reyes in the recent issue of the glossy Philippine National Police Journal (PNPJ) with PSSUPT Gilberto DC Cruz.

Source: Newswatch