Senator Panfilo Lacson on Saturday said it is tiring to comment on the jokes of President Rodrigo Duterte, following the President’s latest remark on rape.

Duterte said in a speech on Thursday that his bailiwick, Davao City, has the highest number of rape cases in the country because it has many beautiful women.

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READ: Duterte on Davao’s high number of rape cases: ‘Many beautiful women there’

“Maliwanag na biro ito, na hindi siya seryoso… Tayo we’ve grown accustomed at tsaka hindi pa ba tayo napapagod, ‘yung back and forth magjojoke, magrereact tayo?” Lacson said in an interview with dwIZ.

(It is clear that this is a joke, that he is not serious. We have grown accustomed, and are we not tired yet, he will throw a joke and we will react back and forth?)

Lacson said he sometimes refuses to comment to the media on the President’s playful statements since his answer would just be the same.

“Di ba nakakapagod ‘yung pabalik-balik ka na, ‘yun din naman ang pinag-uusapan [Is it not tiring when you always go back and forth but the topic is always the same]?” he said on Duterte’s jokes.

Lacson, however, stressed that Duterte’s statements should only be truthful now that he is President.

“Yung kampanya, tapos na. Iba ‘yung tinatawag na kampanya. Iba ‘yung tinatawag na pag-govern. Kapag tapos na ang kampanya at nag-gogovern ka na, dapat sa totoo [ka] na lang,” he said.

(The campaign period has ended. Campaigning and governing are different. Now that the campaign period has ended and you are now governing, you should only be truthful.)

In a previous “Meet Inquirer Multimedia” forum, Lacson also said he took Duterte’s remark as a joke when he said he would step down if the likes of Bongbong Marcos and Senator Francis Escudero would replace him.

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He said he thinks it was another joke since the Constitution doesn’t allow such scenario. /jpv

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