Presumptive president Rodrigo Duterte on Monday explained his reputation as a nocturnal watcher of Davao City.

In a press conference in Davao, Duterte said he took some days off since the campaign period ended May 7 to recharge.

"I need 8 hours of sleep; short of that, I’m not at my best element," he said.

On tags of being nocturnal, Duterte said he had to adjust because disorganized Davao needed him patrolling at nights.

"I used to patrol at nights, check on the police kung 'di natutulog sa istasyon—kasi ang ginawa ng mga buang, yung mga lamesa, dikit-dikit nila, tapos magdala ng unan, maglatag ng newspaper, matulog," he said.

The policemen, he added, were also afraid to go out because of the assassins from the communist groups.

"We used to lose something like three, four policemen and soldiers a day. Kaya I had to [patrol at night]; kasi kung hindi, pataying talaga ng mga g**o [stupid] eh. So I had to be there to let them know of my presence," he said.

Today, he said, there is modus vivendi between him and the New People's Army, but an incident three weeks ago angered him.

"The last time, nagalit talaga ako. I went to the mountain, iyak iyak ako dun. We got the police back, five of them. Hinostage eh. That was about three weeks ago," he said.

Duterte has served as vice-mayor, congressman, and mayor of Davao City since 1988.