All hell broke loose on Twitter as President Duterte’s misogynistic joke about the “no contact policy” went viral after his press conference on COVID-19 yesterday.

"Ayoko ng no contact policy, 'di pwedeng sila lang makayakap sa babae." Pres.Duterte proves that he is incapable of providing any substantial plan to address the COVID-19 outbreak. In fact, the only thing he can bring to the table is another egregious display of misogyny. https://t.co/4g1QjpL5F2 — Gabriela Women's Party (@GabrielaWomenPL) March 9, 2020

In his attempt to address the issue, he added some personal comments on the “no contact policy.” He said, “Ayoko ng ‘no contact policy,’ ’di pwedeng sila lang makayakap sa babae. (I don’t want a ‘no contact policy,’ they can’t be the only ones that could embrace women.)”

This prompted Gabriela Women’s Party to address it on Twitter. The organization wrote, “Pres. Duterte proves that he is incapable of providing any substantial plan to address the COVID-19 outbreak.” They even continued by saying how the president could only bring misogyny to the table.

Replies to the tweet are mostly criticism aimed at the president, pointing out his insensitivity. There are even some who think his joke is the government’s way of covering up the fact that there is a “lack of effective infectious disease countermeasure.”

nakakasuka 🤮 jokes are his way of deflecting the real issue – lack of effective infectious disease countermeasure, and his misogyny can no longer hide his decaying carcassed body — ✨hey,Shey!✨ (@superhuxmom) March 9, 2020

People are in panic. Pero ganito pa rin si President. Haaay. — Eighmeeii (@eighmeeiiwrites) March 10, 2020

what comes out from your mouth, states what's on your mind and on your heart. can't believe a president would say this. — Jo 🕊 (@virJOOO) March 9, 2020

Hopefully the government properly addresses the issue rather than beating around the bush. The people deserve to know proper information on how to prevent catching the virus and be protected by the people they trusted and voted. It’s also best for the government to be transparent with new cases and their origins to help the public be aware of what’s really going on.

Photo screengrabbed from the Presidential Communication’s Facebook page

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