President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday deviated from the traditional practice of personally handing out diplomas to graduates of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA).

Duterte, the commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces, delegated this function for the first time to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, who distributed the diplomas to most of the 261 members of the PMA Mabalasik Class of 2019 during the graduation rites held at Fort del Pilar in Baguio City.

The President arrived nearly two hours late to the event which was supposed to begin at 9 a.m.

Explaining Duterte’s actions, presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo on Monday said the President only had two hours of sleep before the graduation.

“President Duterte lacked sleep the day before the event, working on papers, reading reports from various departments, and signing papers,” Panelo said in a message to reporters.

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