Duterte on kissing women in campaign trail: 'Flirt talaga ako'

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo "Rody" Duterte, one of the contenders in the 2016 presidential race, on Friday admitted that he is a flirt as he kissed women in his campaign trail, but said he does it in a harmless way.

"Ganoon ako sa tao. Flirt talaga ako. Pero hindi flirt na may malisya. Nothing to do about sexual. Nagfi-flirt lang ako. And I also embrace," said Duterte, who once boasted of having two wives and two girlfriends, in a report by Tina Panganiban-Perez on "24 Oras."

The report said Duterte was attending the Christmas party of a meat processing plant in Pampanga with his running mate, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano. When he arrived at the venue, he kissed the women who welcomed him.

Asked to comment on critics' observations that that is not the way a president should act, the tough-talking Duterte said: "Who are they to say that? Sino iyang mga taong nagsasabi niyan? Patayin ko."

"Bakit nila ako kunan ng kaligayan ko, lalo na sa mga babae?" he added.

Before leaving the event, Duterte asked one of the women in the crowd for a kiss, the "24 Oras" report said.

Duterte, who also boasted of killing as many as 1,700 criminals, has been criticized as a womanizer, but he has dismissed this accusation. He also said he is not bothered by those accusing him of committing human rights violations.

"Patay naman sila so ano pang iisyuhin natin diyan?" he said.

"Bigyan mo akong isang kaso lang. Huwag nang human rights. Human right na lang. Wag na iyong 's'. Maniwala ka? Huwag kang maniwala diyan. Hindi ako gago na pumatay ng tao nang harap-harapan," added Duterte, who also received flak recently for his unsavory comment against Pope Francis during a televised speech.

Duterte in October said that he never dreamed of becoming the president. But he changed his mind when the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) ruled to junk the disqualification case against Senator Grace Poe regarding her citizenship.

However, he refused to comment on the decision of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) First Division to cancel Poe's certificate of candidacy for president.

Duterte has a pending disqualification case in the Comelec in relation to his subsitution as PDP-Laban's standard bearer. But like all other issues, the mayor just shrugged it off.

"'Di mas mabuti po [na ma-disqualify ako]. Dalawa kami ni Grace. Mas mabuti iyan. Maiwan na lang si Mar [Roxas] pati si [Vice President Jejomar] Binay. Ang sarap naman ng Pilipinas kung ganoon," he said.

Buerger's disease

In the "24 Oras" report, Duterte also admitted that he was diagnosed with Buerger's disease in the 1970s. According to Mayo Clinic, it is a rare disease where the arteries and veins in the arms and legs could swell and become inflamed, blocking them with blood clots.

"If you smoke nicotine, magsasara iyan. That's why walang circulation sa paa o dito (finger), tatanggalin iyan. But if you stop smoking, okay lang," he said.

Duterte also joked that he had cancer but only to drive a point.

"May cancer ako noon. Pero nawala na. Utak, puso, kigol [rectum area in Bisaya], name it and I have it. Gusto ba nila akong mamatay, e 'di aminin ko lahat ng sakit," he said.

The mayor previously hit the camp of Liberal Party standard bearer Mar Roxas for allegedly spreading rumors that he has throat cancer. —Trisha Macas/KBK/JST, GMA News