President Rodrigo Duterte kissing a married woman on the lips in front of the Filipino community in Seoul, South Korea during his three-day official visit to the country “encourages or emboldens sex offenders, normalizes misogyny, sexism and gender discrimination,” ex-Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno’s spokesperson Josa Deinla said.
Duterte has been fond of “showing such behavior against strong women because of the misogyny of this government,” Deinla said in an ANC interview on Wednesday.
She added that the current administration “cannot abide women who are strong and are speaking up for themselves” because they are fighting the “oppressive status quo.”
Although both parties — the president and Filipina Bea Kim — claimed that there was no malice in the kiss they shared, Deinla insisted that the act was “inappropriate and immoral.”
She added that even if the woman consented, it cannot be used as an excuse because she was “under duress.”
(DAILY NEWS ROUND UP FOR 06/ 06 /18)