You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

This was President Rodrigo Duterte’s ardent belief as he admitted to his struggles in using a touchscreen phone and the messaging app Viber.

The 73-year-old Chief Executive is known to have an iPhone and even an Apple watch, but said he much prefers his “de-pindot” cellular phone.

Mobile phone users of the older generation may be able to relate to Duterte’s complaints about touchscreen typing.

“Sabi mo, touch. Isang pindot mo, tatlong numero lalabas. Magpindot ka dito ng “i,” lahat ng katabi ng “i” lumalabas. Kailan kaya matapos ito?” said Duterte in a speech on Tuesday, August 21, in Cebu City.

(You said, touch. One press, 3 numbers come out. You press “i,” all the letters next to “i” come out. When will this message be complete?)

Duterte said he only likes smartphones because it allows him to view pictures.

“Ayaw ko na ito. Pinaglalaruan ko lang. Pictures eh, ‘yan lang ang gusto ko. ‘Pag nandiyan na ‘yung picture, pakita mo sa akin,” he said. (I don’t like this. I just play with it. I only like the pictures. When the picture is there, show it to me.)

Mishaps with Viber

Duterte admitted yet another detail about his social media life – or lack of it. He claims he has a Viber account that he barely uses.

“May Viber kasi ako, pero hindi ko ginagamit. Tapos, ewan ko, napindot ko raw ‘yung ‘send all.’ Yung ‘send all,’ nandiyan ‘yung lahat ng pangalan nila. Sabi nila, ‘You created a group.’ Anong ‘you created a group’?” railed Duterte, to the amusement of his audience.

(I have Viber, but I don’t use it. And one time, I don’t know, I supposedly pressed “send all.” All their names were there. They said, “You created a group.” What do you mean “you created a group”?)

Viber has a special Broadcast List feature that allows the user to send messages to multiple contacts without adding them to a group. 

In the same speech, Duterte claimed he watched Netflix that afternoon. He has also previously complained lightheartedly about his youngest daughter Veronica spending too much time on her smartphone. – Rappler.com