In Honeylet's presence, Duterte caps speech in Tokyo by kissing women onstage

President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday capped his two-hour speech before the Filipino community in Tokyo, Japan by kissing some women in the audience.

Duterte made the gesture in the presence of his partner Honeylet Avanceña, whom he called his "First Lady" during the event.

"Syempre 'yun lang naman ang bayad ninyo sa akin pero maghalik ako lips to lips talaga. Sino ngayon ang mag-volunteer?" Duterte said before he invited some women to go up onstage. The President gave them a kiss on the cheek.

Before this, Duterte justified anew his act of kissing a Filipino woman onstage at a similar event during his visit to South Korea  in June last year.

"Wala namang malisya 'yung hinalikan ko. Bastos daw ako," said the President, who is in Japan on a working visit. 

Duterte has repeatedly drawn the ire of women’s rights groups and some lawmakers for his treatment of women, especially when he jokes about rape.

But Malacañang said Duterte made mischievous remarks to make people laugh and that people have been used to his jokes. — BAP, GMA News