Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte drew flak for defending a powerful ally who publicly admitted that he committed adultery. House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Sunday admitted that he had children with two women other than his wife.
“This is a world of hypocrisy. Who among you here does not have a mistress?” the president said in a speech aired on national television.
He said that extra-marital affairs are common among politicians.
“Sino ba’ng walang kaligayahan?” (Who doesn’t have happiness?), Duterte asked.
His statements were received by criticisms from the largely conservative Catholic country.
“All of it is sexist and misogynistic to explain improper behaviour simply by virtue of being male,” Senator Risa Hontiveros told AFP.
“It sends a message that undermines the many struggles and gains for women’s rights and gender equality.”
Alvarez, the country’s fourth-highest official, is an old friend and political ally of Duterte.
The politician made headlines after gettting into a feud with Davao del Norte Rep. Antonio Floirendo Jr. Their “girlfriends” reporetedly got involved in a public altercation late last year.
Duterte, in the televised speech to government employees in Manila, admitted his comments defending Alvarez’s affairs were “a chauvinist statement”.
“But really there are so many women and you (have) so short a time in this world. My God!” he said in comments that drew laughter from the crowd.
“The thing there is that you’re able to support the children. That’s it.”
Tthe 72-year-old president has his first marriage to Elizabeth Zimmerman annulled and is in a long-term relationship with his current partner Honeylet Avanceña. He has boasted about using Viagra.
During the election campaign, the US and Australian ambassadors criticised Duterte for saying he had wanted to rape a “beautiful” Australian missionary who was murdered in a 1989 provincial prison riot in the city where Duterte was mayor.
He reacted angrily to that criticism, saying his remarks had been misinterpreted.
