Duterte twits Binay on med test dare: It might show you’re thief

Candidates Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Jejomar Binay shake hands at the sidelines of the presidential debate in Cagayan de Oro City on Feb. 21. INQUIRER PHOTO

KALIBO, Aklan—Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday hit back at his presidential rival Jejomar Binay over the Vice President’s challenge for fellow candidates to undergo a medical examination, including a psychological test.

“Him first. He is lucky. Don’t ask for it because the test might show you (Binay) are a thief. For me it’s just my mouth. Be careful with what you suggest. You might get caught,” he said in Filipino in an ambush interview on Wednesday night here.

According to a psychological report submitted as evidence in the annulment proceedings with former wife Elizabeth Zimmerman, Duterte was diagnosed with “antisocial narcissistic personality disorder,” characterized by “gross indifference, insensitivity and self-centeredness, grandiose sense of self-entitlement and manipulative behaviors,” and “pervasive tendency to demean, humiliate others and violate their rights and feelings.”

Asked about the psychological report first published by ABS-CBN, Duterte said the diagnosis was a “standard reason” during annulment.

“Lahat ng binasa nila lahat diyan sa annulment, lahat ng rason, yan ang standard reason basahin mo lahat ng annulment, yun ang reason kasi bayaran yan dok, bahala kayo diyan,” he told reporters.

In a radio interview on Thursday, Binay said Duterte had a “psychological disorder,” claiming only a person with an abnormal mind could joke about rape and referring to the mayor’s remarks about the gang rape and killing of Australian missionary Jacqueline Hamill.

“So that’s why that’s how he acts. He boasts of those he killed, the children who were stabbed to death. Then, on the slain Australian, he just said, ‘She looks great. I should have gone first,’ things like that. That’s very abnormal, isn’t it? So that’s why there’s abnormality in the things he says, it’s because he apparently has a psychological disorder,” Binay said in Filiino.

Sought for comment, Duterte’s camp said there was no truth in Binay’s attacks.

“There is no truth to what he is saying,” Peter Laviña, Duterte’s spokesperson, told INQUIRER.net on Thursday.

“He is demeaning the office of the Vice President. He is receiving salary from the Filipino people and he is engaging in a smear campaign,” he added.

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