Duterte told to resign for ‘touching’ sleeping househelp in his youth

MANILA, Philippines— Gabriela Women’s Party on Sunday condemned President Rodrigo Duterte’s latest claim that he touched a sleeping househelp when he was still a high school student, a remark that the Palace is explaining away as a "laughable anecdote."

In a statement, Gabriela said “it is deeply disturbing even for Duterte to brag about attempting to rape a maid when he was a minor.” The group, which has been critical of Duterte's policies since allied lawmakers in the Makabayan bloc broke away from the House majority in 2017, are urging the president to resign over this latest “confession.”

“The maniac in Malacañang has proven that he had no qualms violating the rights of women, people of lower stature and viewed them as his own personal toy,” Gabriela said.

“This latest confession has brought shame not only on himself but on the entire nation that trusted him to lead judiciously and righteously. He has proven himself unworthy of his position and should resign,” it added.

RELATED: At land distribution event, Duterte brings up sexual abuse by priests

The group was reacting to a part of Duterte’s speech on Saturday where he claimed that he confessed to a priest his move to touch a sleeping househelp when he was still a student at Jesuit-run Ateneo de Davao University.

"I lifted the blanket...I tried to touch what was inside the (panties)," the president said.  "I was touching. She woke up. So I left the room."

In the same speech, the president also lambasted the Catholic priests for their alleged physical abuses and sexual misconduct. He once again claimed he was touched by a priest during confession.

'A sick man'

Rep. France Castro (Alliance of Concerned Teachers Party-list) criticized these confessions of Duterte and described him as a “sick man.”

"Sa gitna ng kabi-kabilang nararanasan ng mamamayan na kalamidad bago magtapos ang taon ay nagagawa pang magkuwento ng ganito ang Pangulong ito, sa halip na gamitin ang pagkakataon na makatulong sa mga mamamayan. 'Di kailangang mga tao ang ganitong kuwento," Castro said in a statement.

(Amid the calamities experienced by the countrymen before the year ends, the president is still managed to tell stories like this instead of helping the public. Filipinos don't need this kind of stories.)

"He is truly a sick man," she added.

Duterte made the allegations during the distribution of Certificates of Land Ownerswhip Award to agrarian reform beneficiaries in Kidapawan City, Cotabato on Saturday.

Malacañang, which routinely explains away Duterte's cpntroversial statements as "jokes" and expressions of frustration, dismissed the president's remark as a "laughable anecdote to dramatize the fact of sexual abuse that was inflicted on him and his fellow students when they were in high school." 

RELATED: Rape ‘jokes’ normalize objectification of women, CHR tells Duterte
—With Alexis Romero