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<\/p>\nErratic President Duterte Backtracks on Same-Sex Marriage in Philippines<\/b><\/p>\n
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President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines has reversed his previous campaign stance\u00a0supporting the legalization of same-sex<\/a> unions\u00a0by blithely ruling it out for the foreseeable future<\/a>.<\/p>\n Before Trump and his Twitter account there was Duterte, similarly known for blustering insults and\u00a0trying-too-hard womanizing, shifting policies on a whim from one day to the next, and being elected last year without a majority of the popular vote.\u00a0He has gotten into hot water for wolf-whistling at a woman<\/a> reporter during a press conference, praising the wonders of Viagra during a formal speech, making a joke about the gang rape of an Australian missionary<\/a>,\u00a0and calling then-President Obama a \u201cson of a bitch\u201d and telling him to go to hell<\/a>, presumably because he thought it made him look tough. (Ever the charmer, he also insulted the\u00a0American ambassador with a homophobic slur<\/a>.)\u00a0Behind all of the bravado lies a draconian, ill-conceived drug war that has led to the extrajudicial killings of\u00a0thousands from which even children are not safe<\/a>.<\/p>\n Amidst this problematic public persona, to say the least, a scarce bright spot\u00a0was Duterte\u2019s previously laissez-faire attitudes towards same-sex unions<\/a>:<\/p>\n In a pre-election forum in January last year, Mr. Duterte endeared himself to progressives and the gay<\/a> community when he was asked whether he would push for legislation to allow same-sex<\/a> marriages, and he replied that he would. He said there appeared to be an \u201cerror in the Bible\u201d when it said unions must be only between men<\/a> and women<\/a>.<\/p>\n It should have stated that marriages were for \u201cAdam, Eve and the gays<\/a>,\u201d he said, to cheers from the crowd.<\/p>\n That has all changed now\u00a0after a speech he gave to the Filipino community in Myanmar on a visit this week<\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cThat is their [Western] culture,\u201d he said\u00a0. . . \u201cThat\u2019s for them. That can\u2019t apply to us, because we are Catholics. And there is the civil code, which states you can only marry a woman<\/a> for me, and for a woman<\/a> to marry a man<\/a>. That\u2019s the law in the Philippines.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Duterte, who turns 72 next week, said he was only following what was in the books, asserting that he did not take issue with anyone\u2019s sexuality. Two of his brothers-in-law, and some of his cousins, are gay<\/a>, he said.<\/p>\n But he stressed: \u201cWherever God has placed you, stay there.\u201d He noted that no one was empowered to \u201cerase the great divide between a woman<\/a> and a man<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite this seeming embrace of Catholicism, he has previously called the church hypocritical and corrupt, while church figures have criticized his drug war policies as inhumane and even organized a peaceful protest against him earlier this year.<\/p>\n The post Erratic President Duterte Backtracks on Same-Sex Marriage in Philippines<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad<\/a>.<\/p>\n