How to tell if President Duterte is joking? If the audience laughs, says Panelo

How to tell if President Rodrigo Duterte is joking in his speech? Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo on Tuesday said there are two ways.

One, Panelo told Unang Balita in an interview, is to use your common sense.

Another way of knowing if the President is not being serious in his speech, according to Panelo, is when members of the audience appreciate the humor.

"Malalaman mong nagbibiro siya (Duterte) kung tumatawa 'yung mga tao sa harapan niya. Kasi ang joke ginagawa 'yan para tumawa tayo, 'di ba?" Panelo said.

Panelo made the statement as he clarified that Duterte's remark about using marijuana to keep himself awake amid his hectic schedule is another one of the President's many jokes.

"Hindi na ba tayo nasanay sa Pangulo? Palagi naman siya, every now and then, he cracks joke to make people laugh, to lighten a situation," he said.

Panelo said cracking jokes is Duterte's "style."

"'Yung ang style niya. Dun nga siya nanalo eh," he said. —KBK, GMA News