Poe on Duterte: I have come to get used to his ‘explosive’ jokes

“Maybe I have come to get used to it in a way.”

Senator Grace Poe said this in an interview with ABS CBN News Channel on Tuesday when asked about the statement of President Rodrigo Duterte’s latest joke on his alleged marijuana use.

Poe said she was already used to the President’s “explosive” statements that he would later take back.

“I was not surprised not because I thought that he did that, but the President has said many explosive things,” Poe said.

“Admittedly, a lot were kind of… We’re not used to it, but maybe I have come to get used to it in a way,” she added.

On Monday night, the President admitted in his speech during the Asean-National Organizing Council conferment awards, that he was taking marijuana to keep awake during his busy schedule.

“It’s a killing activity, and I think that at my age — ako hindi masyado, kasi nagmamarijuana ako eh, para magising. Sa iba, hindi na kaya,” he said.

READ: Duterte admits using marijuana to keep him awake

But the President immediately retracted his claim during an ambush interview with reporters after the event, saying that it was just one of his jokes.

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

Poe, however, gave the President credit for clarifying his statement on marijuana but added that such a controversial statement would have an adverse effect.

“If you are the President of the country, whatever you say, right or wrong, will be magnified. So naturally, the context, whether it’s a joke or not, will always have an effect,” she said.

The President has been known for his campaign against illegal drugs in the country. He was vocal in his speeches on how he hates the drug addicts and drug traffickers in the country. /muf/ac