Vice President Sara Duterte visited the Embassy of the State of Qatar in Makati City to sign the book of condolence for the late Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, she said in a social media post.
Duterte said she conveyed her sympathies to the House of Thani and to the people of Qatar, and that she also relayed a condolence message from her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte. She described Sheikh Hamad as a leader whose tenure was central to Qatar’s transformation into a modern and influential state.
Sheikh Hamad died on July 12 at the age of 74, according to a statement from the Amiri Diwan reported by Al Jazeera. He ruled Qatar from 1995 until 2013, when he abdicated in favor of his son, the current Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani — a rare voluntary handover among hereditary Gulf rulers. He was buried in Doha following funeral prayers at the Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque.
Qatar declared four days of official mourning, with flags flown at half-mast. The UAE Presidential Court announced a matching four-day mourning period, The National reported, with flags lowered at government institutions and at Emirati missions abroad.
Qatari embassies worldwide opened condolence books in the days that followed. The Qatar News Agency listed Duterte among the officials who paid respects at Qatar’s diplomatic posts, alongside Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov.
Qatar hosts one of the larger Filipino communities in the Gulf, and Manila and Doha maintain labor and trade ties that have expanded steadily since diplomatic relations were established.
