Philippines President Duterte says he was once gay ‘But I cured myself’

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05/31/2019

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has claimed he was once gay but “cured” himself of homosexuality in controversial remarks made during a trip to Japan. According to Rappler, a Filipino news publication, Duterte mocked his political opponent Senator Antonio Trillanes IV by saying his movements show he is homosexual. Duterte also reportedly “confessed” that he was gay before he met his ex-wife Elizabeth Zimmerman. “Good thing Trillanes and I are similar. But I cured myself,” Duterte said during a speech on Thursday, Rappler reported. “When I began a relationship with Zimmerman, I said, this is it. I became a man again.” He subsequently added: “Duterte is gay. So I am gay, I don’t care if I’m gay or not.” Duterte, whose ruling PDP-Laban party made large gains in May’s elections, has flip-flopped on LGBT rights. Prior to his election as president in 2016, Duterte pledged the introduce same-sex marriage to the Catholic country. But he later switched to favoring same-sex “unions” instead.

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