President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte claims he was once gay but ‘cured’ himself
He hit back at his political rival Senator Antonio Trillanes IV
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte has claimed he was once gay but ‘cured’ himself.
During a trip to Japan, the president mocked his political rival Senator Antonio Trillanes IV by claiming his movements make him gay but then went on to confess he was gay before meeting his ex-wife Elizabeth Zimmerman.
According to Filipino news publication, Rappler, Duterte said: “Good thing Trillanes and I are similar. But I cured myself.
“When I began a relationship with Zimmerman, I said, ‘This is it. I became a man again’.”
He then added: “Duterte is gay. So, I am gay. I don’t care if I’m gay or not.”
Back in 2016, Duterte – who is the leader of the PDP-Laban party – pledged to introduce same-sex marriages to the Catholic country but later switched to favouring same-sex ‘unions’ instead.