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'A playful act,' Palace calls Duterte's kiss with OFW


Malacañang on Monday shrugged off criticism over President Rodrigo Duterte's act of kissing a Filipino woman on the lips during his meeting with the Filipino community on Sunday in South Korea.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the woman herself admitted that there was no malice in it.

"Well I think the kiss is what has made the President very popular amongst our people. Obviously there is no offended party here," Roque said in an interview on CNN Philippines.

"It's a playful act. There was no malice in it. The woman made it clear that she didn't think there was malice in it. It was all intended as a light moment and let's leave it at that."

Roque also believed that the "overwhelming majority of Filipinos" continue to support the President and "found the kiss a light moment that is very accepted in the culture of Filipinos."

"It was not an issue to the woman so it was not an issue to the President. And if you were there the Filipino community appreciated the act. It was an act of endearment intended towards all OFWs," the Palace official said.

Married to a South Korean with whom she has two children, the Filpino woman said the kiss did not mean anything and it was done to make the audience giddy.

Several netizens and opposition lawmakers, however, were not amused.

Senator Risa Hontiveros said even if the act was consensual, it was Duterte who initiated it.

“It was not a meeting of two consenting individuals on equal terms. Uneven power relations were clearly at play. And President Duterte took advantage of that severe power disparity,” she said.

Duterte had repeatedly been accused of inappropriate behavior toward women. —JST, GMA News

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