Filipinos have been baffled for the past month about why President Rodrigo Duterte’s skin has become unnaturally dark. It’s not a sun-kissed, just out-of-the-beach tan — it’s more of a discoloration. He once said it was caused by his choice not to use sunscreen, but yesterday, he gave a different explanation for the dark patches on his face.
Duterte blames it all on a facial cream owned by his partner Honeylet聽Avance帽a, which he said burned his face. But fret not — he has consulted a dermatologist about his skin problem.
In a mix of English and Filipino, : “This (skin) got burned so I went to a derma[tologist] who is really good. Because I used my wife’s cream. My wife [she said] ‘That’s ok.’ But when I looked at the mirror, why did my skin become darker?”
Duterte said his complexion doesn’t matter — what’s more important is his character.
That’s rich coming from a guy who has and is .
: “For me, a man, it鈥檚 not really the color of the skin or the face, [what’s more important] is your character.”
So for a woman, it聽is important?
He also made light of rumors that his changing complexion was caused by health problems, possibly aware that his nemesis Communist Party of the Philippines founder that the facial discoloration was the “symptom of a kidney problem, an indication of renal failure.”
Duterte joked: “They say those who have a problem with their kidney, they become dark. So I say, ‘Duterte is sick.’ I’m like that.”
Let’s hope Duterte’s dermatologist prescribes him a skincare regimen suited to his skin type.
