Well, someone has to say something about Rodrigo Duterte penchant for flirtating with female reporters.
GMA News reporter Raffy Tima took to social media to call out incoming President Rodrigo Duterte for catcalling his wife, fellow GMA reporter Mariz Umali.
In a Facebook post on Wed, Jun 1, Tima wrote how he did not like how Duterte responded to Mariz when she asked him a question during a press conference on Tue, May 31.
Tima titled his note, “Catcalling My Wife Is Wrong In So Many Levels.”
“I expected that from a Mayor Duterte. I know his reputation well enough not to be shocked by it, but that does not make it right. For someone who espouses leadership by example, catcalling anyone in a press conference with all cameras trained on him defies logic. Then again, thats Mayor Duterte,” he wrote.
Tima added what appalled him more was how the people in the room reacted. “Most laughed, others made teasing noise and basically urged the mayor to dish some more! And he did. I do hope none of them were journalists because if they were, shame on them.”
“Some jokes are funny and should be laughed at… but disrespecting women is definitely not one of them,” he ended.
Read Raffy Tima’s post below:
And here’s a video of the incident, which shows Duterte whistling at Mariz while she was trying to ask a question (“How will you deal with cabinet secretaries who are non-performing? Will you be giving them a deadline?”) during the press conference. The encounter happens starting the 34:47 mark.
Umali responded to Tima’s note via her on Facebook post, thanking her husband for defending her.
“Thank you so much mahal. Admittedly, I was surprised with President Duterte’s response to my question. However, I tried to understand him based on what I know about him, kept my composure and insisted on my answer, which I got. Thank you for this,” she wrote.
Incidentally, Duterte is currently under fire for alleging many murdered journalists became victims because they are corrupt.
READ: Duterte on slain journalists: They’re corrupt, so they got killed
His open flirtation with female reporters is also well-documented by the media.
Needless to say, it’ll be an interesting six years for reporters covering the President. On Mon, May 30, it was reported that Duterte’s Malacañang work schedule will start at 1pm. He also has a penchant for late-night press conferences.
Reader Interactions