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Aguirre on rape joke: People should get used to Duterte's hyperbole


Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Monday played down President Rodrigo Duterte's recent joke that he would personally claim responsibility for soldiers who might be accused of rape in the course of the implementation of martial law in Mindanao.

Aguirre advised the public not to make a big deal out of the remarks of the President, who has built a reputation on colorful language.

“Dapat maging sanay na tayo sa bibig ni Presidente. Huwag na natin
palakihin 'yung, joke is a joke, kaya lang may nagsasabi na you shouldn’t
joke about rape pero dapat sanay na tayo. Iyong mga hyperbole ni Presidente dapat alam na natin. Do not capitalize on it," the Cabinet official said.

“Ang importante dito do you support what the president is doing? Do you support the declaration of martial law?” Aguirre said.

Duterte's joke during his speech before members of the 2nd Mechanized Infantry (Magbalantay) Brigade of the Philippine Army in Iligan City last Friday garnered criticism from women's rights activists over the weekend.

Senator Risa Hontiveros said the rape joke is "a violation of the Bill of Rights [which] is not suspended by Martial Law."

Gabriela Women's Party called Duterte's rape joke as the "height of insensitivity" as it might embolden soldiers to "systematically use rape as a tool of war and subject women to further abuse and impunity."

Clinton Foundation board member Chelsea Clinton, the daughter of former United States president Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, also reviled the joke, calling Duterte a "murderous thug" for the human rights violations allegedly committed under his administration. —ALG, GMA News

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