Duterte insults Trillanes anew: He has an IQ of 16

President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday continued to belittle the intellect of staunch critic Senator Antonio Trillanes IV.

Speaking at the 49th charter day celebration of Mandaue City, Duterte said that Trillanes has an intelligence quotient of only 16.

Duterte said on Monday he was surprised why Trillanes, a former Navy officer, was able to graduate from the Philippine Military Academy "given his character, his mouth and low IQ."

Trillanes graduated cum laude from the PMA with a Bachelor of Science degree in Naval Systems Engineering in 1995. He also has a master's degree in Public Administration from University of the Philippines-Diliman.

Trillanes responded by challenging Duterte to take the IQ test. The senator said that he is willing to resign if proven that the President, a lawyer, is smarter than him.

Trillanes also said Duterte's alleged failure to address the problems in the country is proof that he has low IQ.

Duterte's spokesperson, Harry Roque, said Tuesday the President is not obliged to "give in to the demands of anyone."

The Palace official then turned the tables on Trillanes, urging him to take a psychiatric test.

"Perhaps we should begin with a test on sanity before we even talk about IQ," Roque told reporters.

The opposition senator is a vocal critic of the President’s controversial war on drugs and his policy on the South China Sea dispute.

Trillanes had also openly accused Duterte of corruption, a charge the President again denied.

"Why would I dignify [his accusation]? [My wealth] will not be over P40 million," Duterte said. —JST, GMA News