Palace: Duterte's recent rape remark was a sarcastic comment

President Rodrigo Duterte was not joking; rather, he was being sarcastic when he made his new rape remark, Malacañang clarified on Monday.

At the Mindanao Hour, presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said that the public should understand what Duterte really said.

“Basically, it’s not a joke. It’s a very serious statement, that’s actually saying—kumbaga para niyang sinabi, ‘Bilib naman ako sa iyo, gagawin mo pa iyan, alam mo ikakamatay mo iyan,’” he said.

“It’s a sarcastic statement. It was not a joke,” he added.

Duterte on Friday said he would congratulate a rapist if he still commits the crime knowing he can die doing so.

This was Duterte’s third rape remark. The first was during the campaign period in April 2016 recalling the case of Australian Jacqueline Hamill who was raped and killed during Duterte's early years as Davao City mayor. The second one was before soldiers in Iligan City in May 2017 when he said he would also go to jail for servicemen who committed rape. —KG, GMA News