Duterte in high spirits to joke again: Anyone with marijuana? 

President Rodrigo Duterte. PHOTO BY BARRY M. OHAYLAN

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte again cracked a joke on Wednesday about using marjiuana in his usual expletive-laden speech in Malacañang. 

“Inaantok ako. Sinong may marijuana diyan?” Duterte said in a speech during the awarding ceremonies for the 2017 Presidential Award for Child-Friendly Municipalities and Cities (PACFMC), drawing laughter from the audience.

He called the media “stupid” for believing in his admission that he was using marijuana.

On Monday, Mr. Duterte told audience of a formal event in the Palace that he used marijuana to keep him awake amid his busy schedule during the 33rd Asean Summit in Singapore last month.

READ: Duterte admits using marijuana to keep him awake

Hours later, he told reporters he was only joking.

READ: Duterte on ‘admission’ to marijuana use: ‘It was a joke’

In his speech on Wednesday, Duterte said he only wanted to “lighten a dull moment” when cracking jokes.

“If it is too ridiculous, it must be a joke,” he said.

Despite his defense, the The Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Duterte’s jokes “are not funny.”

READ: ‘It’s not funny,’ HRW says of Duterte’s joke on marijuana use

“Marijuana is illegal in the Philippines, and Duterte’s admission of using it – whether in jest or not – undermines the rationale for his ‘drug war’ and exposes its murderous hypocrisy. It adds cruel insult to injury for the victims and their families,” HRW Asia director Brad Adams said in a statement. /kga/ac