MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte will not be throwing a lavish party when he turns 73 on Wednesday, his top aide said.

Duterte will just be in his Davao City home with his family on his birthday, said Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go.

“He has never been known to throw lavish birthday parties even when he was mayor of Davao City,” Go said in a statement.

“Prayers from his well-wishers during his birthday would surely make him very happy.”

The President has been in Davao City since the evening of March 21 and is expected to return to Malacañang only after the Holy Week break.

Duterte, the oldest in history to be elected Philippine president, has shunned parties even through his two-decade stint as Davao City mayor.

He had previously said it has been a tradition in his family to keep things simple on such occasions.

Duterte has also enforced a policy of frugal governance.

The President did not have any big parties during his 72nd birthday last year, while his 71st birthday fell smack in the middle of the 2016 presidential campaign.

Duterte was born on March 28, 1945 in Maasin, Southern Leyte to Vicente Duterte, who served in the cabinet of deposed strongman Ferdinand Marcos, and Soledad Roa, a school teacher.