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Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is facing calls for his resignation after detailing how he sexually abused his housemaid when he was a teenager.
Key points:
- While telling an audience about the sexual abuse he said “it’s true” but his office later said he made the story up
- Opposition groups have called for him to step down, saying repeated jokes about rape and sexual assault put women at risk
- Duterte’s speeches often feature profanity, threats and taboo jokes but are take lightly by many Filipinos
During a speech to a large crowd on Saturday (local time) Mr Duterte was attacking the Catholic Church but then began to talk about a confession he had made to a priest while he was a teenage university student.
He said he told the priest he had gone to the maid’s room and while she was sleeping he touched her genitals.
“I lifted the blanket … I tried to touch what was inside the panty … I was touching [it],” he said, news website Rappler reports.
“She woke up so I left the room.”
He went back later and again tried to assault the woman, he said he told the priest.
The priest instructed Mr Duterte to “say five Our Fathers, five Hail Marys, because you will go to hell,” he is reported as saying.
At the time he told the audience “it’s true” but the President’s office defended his confession, calling it a laughable anecdote that he made up.
Opposition groups have called for Mr Duterte to step down, noting his repeated attempts to joke about rape and sexual assault put women at risk of abuse.
Women’s rights political party Gabriela said the comments proved he was not fit to be a leader.
Labor organisation Sentro also released a statement saying Mr Duterte had no capacity to change.
Mr Duterte is known for his informal style
His speeches are often loaded with profanity, threats and jokes about taboo subjects, which offend some but are taken lightly by many Filipinos.
In May 2017, Mr Duterte joked he would “go down” for rapes committed by soldiers under martial law, and that if any soldiers raped three women he would claim personal responsibility.
As he was running for office in the 2016 election, he recalled a 1989 prison riot in which an Australian missionary was killed, and inmates had lined up to rape her.
Mr Duterte said the “victim was beautiful”, and as mayor of Davao city where the riot took place, he should have been first in line.
He later apologised and said he did not intend to disrespect women or rape victims.
During a June visit to Filipino workers in South Korea, Mr Duterte asked a woman in the 3,000-strong crowd to kiss him in exchange for a book he was giving out.
The woman, who admitted she was married and appeared excited to see Mr Duterte in person, agreed and while his actions were denounced and labelled as derogatory and misogynist, others saw it as a harmless kiss that was intended to be fun.
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