Duterte sex jokes at typhoon briefing meant to ‘lighten the mood’ — Palace
MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang defended Monday President Duterte’s sex jokes during a situation briefing in Camarines Sur, saying that the Chief Executive was just “lightening the mood” as the country reels from the effects of typhoons.
According to presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, Duterte was just channeling a Filipino trait to “lighten a problem” when he issued the jokes.
“Ugali na ng Pilipino na bagamat marami tayong pagsubok eh sinusubukan pa rin nating i-lighten iyong problema. So hindi lang naman po iyan gawain ng Presidente bagamat matagal na po iyang nangyayari,” Roque said in a televised Palace press briefing.
“Talagang hindi maipagkakait sa kanya na dahil sunud-sunod ang trahedya e kahit papano humanap ng dahilan para kahit papano magkaroon ng kaunting break from yung mga kalamidad na binibisita niya,” he added.
Roque further said the public shouldn’t “read anything beyond the fact that the President wants to more or less lighten the mood.”
“(B)uong araw wala siyang nakita kundi disaster doon po sa Cagayan at doon sa Naga. Hayaan na po natin. Bigyan natin ng pagkakataon na magkaroon ng light moment ang ating Presidente,” he claimed.
After over 40 minutes of discussing the government response to Typhoon Ulysses which wreaked havoc in parts of Luzon, Duterte’s briefing ended with jokes laced with sexual innuendos that were exchanged with one of the local officials present.
He mentioned a local official in Camarines Sur, who he said was his classmate in law school.
“Classmate kami. Classmate ko ito sa law school. Brod ko pa. Pero naubos ang panahon niya sa ano. Medyo tumanda na. Nakakatanda talaga yan. Sobrang babae? Nakakatanda yan,” the President said.
In response, the local official said that he was actually “undersexed” supposedly according to Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte, who was also present during the briefing.
“Sabi nga po ni Cong. LRay, undersexed daw po ako. Undersexed. Kaya kung pwede po gawin mo na akong secretary para hindi na undersexed,” the local official said.
The exchange prompted laughter from other officials present in the briefing.
This was not the first time Duterte issued controversial remarks about women that earned him the ire of the public and women’s rights advocates.
He once ordered soldiers to shoot female rebels in their vaginas, and even admitted to ogling Vice President Leni Robredo back in 2016.
The President also flirted with female local chief executives during his public speeches.
Responding to Duterte’s latest joke, Robredo urged the government to provide the public a message of utmost urgency in this time of calamity.
“Kapag panahon na may matindi tayong pinagdadaanan, napakahalaga yung mensahe. Napakahalaga yung mensahe na we are giving utmost urgency on things that are really urgent,” Robredo said in an interview over ABS-CBN News Channel on Monday.
