[NY Post] Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte told a crowd in Japan that he was once gay but "cured" himself of homosexuality when he married his first wife.Duterte, 74, made the remarks on Thursday during a speech in Tokyo after he accused his political opponent and critic Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV of being gay.
"I said, ‘Are you sure?' They said, ‘You ask any gay person who sees Trillanes move, they'll say he's gay.' No wonder. Good thing Trillanes and I are similar. But I cured myself," Duterte said, according to the Rappler news site.
"Duterte is gay. So I am gay, I don't care if I'm gay or not," the president later said.
The controversial leader has a history of making controversial remarks about the LGBT community.
In 2016, he called the US ambassador to his country a "gay son of a bitch" in a speech.
A year later, he said that under Philippine law marriage was only for a man and a woman but later backtracked to say he believes the law can be changed to allow same-sex marriage.
In Tokyo, Duterte said when he began a relationship with his ex-wife Elizabeth Zimmerman, "I became a man again."
The president also added that he was cured by "beautiful women" before he invited several women on stage and kissed them on the cheek.
Duterte and Zimmerman were married for nearly three decades before their marriage was annulled in 2000.