Philippines presidential frontrunner accused of joking about Australian woman who was raped and had her throat slit

'She was so beautiful, the mayor should have been first. What a waste'

The latest opinion survey suggests Rodrigo Duterte is preferred candidate ahead of the 9 May election (NOEL CELIS/AFP/Getty Images)

The frontrunner in the Philippine presidential elections has refused to apologise after being accused of making a joke about a woman who was raped and killed.

A video uploaded to YouTube shows Rodrigo Duterte talking about Jacqueline Hamill, who was one of five missionaries taken hostage and killed during a prison siege in 1989.

She was raped and then had her throat slit before troops stormed the jail, killing all 16 hostage-takers.

In the video, Mr Duterte tells a rally in Quezon City that the woman's face was so beautiful the local mayor should have been first.

Describing his reaction to seeing Ms Hamill's body, he said: "I looked at her face –son of a b**ch – what a waste. What came to mind was, they raped her, they lined up.

"I was angry because she was raped, that's one thing … but she was so beautiful, the mayor should have been first. What a waste."

The presidential palace said Mr Duterte's comments show he has not "matured" and is unfit to be the next Philippine president.

“His statement, recorded on videotape, reveals that since he first served as Davao City Mayor, he has not matured or evolved and that his offer to serve as President truly deserves serious scrutiny,” a presidential spokesman said in a statement.

Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. added that Mr Duterte's comments "speak volumes" about his character and show an "utter lack of respect for women".

"He does not respect nor care for the sensitivities of the countries with whom the Philippines maintains cordial and cooperative relations," he said.

“Instead of being concerned about the breach of prison security in Davao City, he laments that as mayor, he was upstaged by the prison inmates who committed the heinous crimes of rape and murder."

Mr Duterte, however, has since responded to the criticisms, saying he would rather lose the election than say sorry for what he said.

"No, it was not a joke," he told reporters, according to the Philstar. "I said it in a narrative. I was not smiling. I was just talking plain sense narrative."

"I am sorry in general. I am sorry for the Filipino people. It is my style. It is my mouth. I said that in the heat of anger."

The latest opinion polls suggest Mr Duterte is currently the leading candidate ahead of the 9 May election.In May 2015, Mr Duterte ruled himself out of the upcoming presidential election because he “does not want to kill anyone".

He said the “number of dead criminals” might increase if he was elected.

In an interview with local TV channel Gikan sa Masa Para sa Masa, Duterte said: “I do not covet the position. I do not want to be president. I do not want to kill people so do not elect me as president.”

He admitted he did have links to the local “death squads” who execute scores of criminals in the city during the late 1990s.