MANILA, Philippines — Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippine leader accused of being among the worst violators of women’s rights in Asia, lauded the courage, determination and contribution of women to society in a statement released Friday.
In his message for the celebration of the International Women’s Day, Duterte urged the Filipino people to advocate for the rights of women and ensure that they were able to pursue their dreams and participate as the nation addressed the challenges of the times.
“Together, let us optimize the potential of every Filipina as we realize a more inclusive nation rooted on justice and equal opportunity,” Duterte said in a statement Thursday but released only Friday.
“Join me in advocating for the rights of women not only today, but every day. I wish everyone a productive and meaningful celebration,” the president added.
Duterte also recognized the contributions of women in society and stressed that the Philippines ranked the highest among Asia Pacific countries in bridging gender gap.
“These achievements are indeed, remarkable, but our fight for true equality among genders goes on,” he said.
The Philippine leader’s message is sure to receive criticisms and derision especially from rights groups and activists who have repeatedly slammed him for sexist and misogynistic remarks.
In a rally in the historic Plaza Miranda at the heart of Manila on Thursday, activists in pink and purple shirts protested against him as they labeled the Philippine president one of worst violators of women’s rights in Asia.
The protesters, who were singing and dancing, handed flowers to mothers, sisters and widows of drug suspects, who mostly belonged to the country’s urban poor, slain in Duterte’s brutal campaign against illegal drugs.
Duterte has drawn fire in the past for his sexist remarks, the most recent of which was his order for security personnel to shoot female Maoist rebels in their private parts.
“Tell the soldiers, ‘There’s a new order from the mayor,’” the president said in his speech to former rebels early this month. “We will not kill you. We will just shoot you in the vagina, so that if there’s no vagina, it would be useless.”
Duterte prefers to be addressed as “mayor” instead of president as he was the chief executive of the southern Davao City for more than two decades.
Carlos Conde of the Asia Division of Human Rights Watch said that Duterte violated international humanitarian law when he encouraged soldiers to target the private parts of female rebels, which could amount to sexual violence during armed conflict.
At the height of the presidential election campaign in 2016, then Mayor Duterte was internationally condemned for joking about the rape of an Australian missionary killed in a prison riot in Davao City in 1989.
Duterte also attacked Sen. Leila de Lima, one of the fiercest critics of his policies, using her supposed private video with a former lover. At one point, the private video was almost played in congressional hearing at the House which was dominated by his allies.
A spokesman for the president, former human rights lawyer Harry Roque, said that Duterte was not promoting violence against women and in fact did a lot for them through pro-women policies.
“We need to judge him by what he did as mayor of Davao city. Davao City is a trailblazer in upholding the rights of women so there is a distinction between his language and his policies,” said Roque, who in the past encouraged the public to just laugh at Duterte’s crude remarks.