Palace sorry about upside-down presidential seal

Ernesto Abella, the presidential spokesman, admitted that there was an error with the installation of the presidential seal.

“There was, however, no attempt to embarrass the President,” Abella said.

Abella said that appropriate measures had been taken against those responsible for what he called “an act of omission.”

“All Offices concerned sincerely apologize for the incident and renewed the shared commitment to uphold the highest standard of service and support for the President and all his engagements,” the presidential spokesperson said.

He added that all offices involved in presidential visits had already instituted procedures to prevent the occurrence of a similar incident.

The current presidential seal was first used during the time of former President Manuel Roxas. In attaching it to rostrums, the text should encompass the upper portion of the circle while the three stars are placed along its lower arch.

Teodoro Locsin Jr., the Philippines' permanent representative to the United Nations, said on Twitter that former president Corazon Aquino fired an officer who made a similar error.

"This may seem like nitpicking but Cory fired the officer who made a mistake that 'small.' Either get it perfectly right or get out," said Locsin, who served as Aquino's spokesperson.

During the speech, the president again made a rape joke, this time aimed at contestants of a prestigious international beauty pageant.

READ: Duterte's new rape joke aims at Miss Universe

Duterte was talking about the effects of the “virulence” of illegal drugs such as the rape of children when he cracked the joke although this time he was greeted by silence from his audience.