Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was under fire yesterday for joking about using marijuana amid a deadly government campaign against illegal drugs.
Duterte said he was joking when he told government officials in a speech on Monday that he uses marijuana to stay awake during international conferences.
But critics noted that the quip was a “callous and cruel joke.”
“Can poor people crack the same joke without fear of being included in the government’s (crackdown) list, harmed by state security personnel and becoming victims of extrajudicial killings?” asked opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros.
“His latest remark once again exposes how the president is operating at an unparalleled level of impunity,” she said, adding that Duterte should be held accountable for his statements. Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo defended Duterte’s remark.
“Everybody is entitled to a joke,” he told reporters.”He does it because usually events are boring....First, marijuana is not a stimulant to make you awake. It’s the opposite, so obviously there was no logic there, so he was joking.” Panelo also rejected concerns the president was setting a bad example for young Filipinos, saying, “One joke does not make him a bad leader.”
In a speech on Monday night, Duterte complained about the gruelling schedules in international conferences, and how some leaders often fall asleep in meetings. “Me, (I don’t fall asleep) so much because I was taking marijuana to stay awake,” he said.
Marijuana is illegal in the Philippines, where Duterte’s administration has been waging an aggressive campaign against drugs, which has left nearly 5,000 people dead since 2016.
Rodrigo Duterte: facing criticism
