President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday drew laughter from the audience after he joked about being “distracted” by the legs of a Department of Agriculture (DA) senior official.
“Berna, nadis-distract ako, you close your legs. National TV 'no. Nakikinig pa ba ang papa mo?” Duterte said in a speech in Malacanang, referring to Agriculture Undersecretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat, a daughter of former Senator and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo.
The president has previously expressed his fondness for the mestiza widow. A photo of them in 2015 posted by a website shows them holding hands.
In an interview with Asian Dragon magazine in 2015 when he was still weighing whether to run for president, then-Mayor Duterte said, “Election or no election, Berna remains to be my ideal first lady...She’s one person I’m proud of showing to the world.”
Rodrigo Duterte, Berna Romulo Puyat, department of agriculture, DA, alberto romulo