MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday joked that he was not keen on accepting dinner invitations with fellow men anymore, adding that he would only accept invitations from single women.
“I do not accept ‘yung mga yaya ng lalaki, ‘yung dinner, ‘yung having coffee. Hindi ako sanay ng ganun,” the President said on Tuesday during the launching of mobile app “911 Tesda.”
[I don’t accept invitations from men to have dinner, to have coffee. I’m not used to that.]
“But if you want to invite me, first, you must be a lady na walang sabit. Pangalawa, may pera ka pambayad sa kinain natin,” he added, drawing laughter from the crowd.
[But if you want to invite me, first you must be a lady who’s unattached. Second, you must have money to pay for what we eat. ]
However, the President, who has been criticized for objectifying women, said that he would make the first move if he had started taking a fancy on a woman.
“Kung medyo masama na ang tingin ko sa’yo, ako na mismo ang mag-aaya sayo,” he said.
Duterte has repeatedly drawn criticisms for his jokes about women and rape.
He recently signed the so-called Bawal Bastos Law, which penalizes catcalling, wolf-whistling, persistently telling sexual jokes and other forms of sexual harassment in public.
That prompted the Gabriela women’s party-list group to dare him to comply with the law.
But presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said the chief executive himself would be the first to obey the law.
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/atm