Funnyman Duterte draws laughs from Japan OFWs by roasting his delegation

Despite his penchant for profanity when angry, President Rodrigo Duterte can also be quite the funnyman — and his favorite target of jokes are his fellow government officials.

It was no different on Tuesday, when he roasted his official delegation in a speech before the Filipino community in Japan.

His first “victim” was House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez. After talking about having two wives earlier in his speech, Duterte seemed to remember a similar detail about Alvarez while talking about the postponement of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.

“Huwag ka lang magalit, siya pati ako pareho, dalawa ang…” Duterte said before pausing as the audience laughed.

“Totoo man,” added Duterte, who earlier in the speech made the crowd laugh when he noted that his two wives had to be seated apart from each other during his inauguration on June 30 in Malacañang.

In the midst of his speech, Duterte remembered to introduce his Cabinet who are composed of "brilliant" men such as Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr., Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello II, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia, and Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade.

But he saved the best for Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, who Duterte teased for his bald pate.

"Tapos si Pastor pa nga ang may sabi sa akin, 'Alam mo — hindi mo ba alam iyang secretary mo of defense classmate ko iyan,' sabi niya, 'Valedictorian namin iyan.' Kita mo naman ang buhok naubos kakaaral," Duterte said as the audience laughed.

Duterte continued the introductions until he reached his chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo.

"Saan si Sal, ito iyong abogado ng mga artista, kung gusto mo ng... gusto mo ng tsismis kung anong nangyari talaga, dito kay... Sal puwede ka nga," Duterte began his roast.

"Itong si Sal hardworking, yumaman lang ito sa mga away ng mga artista, noong mag-asawa. Iyong magka-kaso, kaso," Duterte added.

Senator JV Ejercito, who was allowed by the Sandiganbayan to join Duterte's Japan trip, was not able to escape from a classic Duterte jibe.

"Si Senator Estrada—ay Ejercito Estrada... Pareho iyan sila Estrada iyan pero sa ano, ganoong mukha, parehong pareho iyan sila," Duterte said referring to Ejercito's half-brother, former Senator Jinggoy Estrada. 

Despite the jokes, Duterte boasted of the capabilities of "star-studded" Cabinet while noting that he himself was just an average student.

“Pero sa awa ng Diyos ha, ito trabahante ko ito lahat,” he said. —JST, GMA News