Philippines presidential candidate who made rape joke widens lead in polls

Recent polls show Rodrigo Duterte leading race with 33 per cent

Duterte described the rape and murder of Australian missionary as 'a waste' (Getty)

A Philippines presidential candidate who was caught on vidoe joking about the rape and murder of an Australian woman is more popular than ever, polls have shown.

Mayor of Davao City Rodrigo Duterte is shown to be leading the presidential race, with 33 per cent in the latest poll conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS).

This is a significant increase on a previous SWS poll, conducted before the offensive comments were made, which showed Mr Duterte with a 27-per-cent lead.

Philippines senator Grace Poe is following behind Mr Duterte in the race with 24 per cent.

Mr Duterte spoke at a rally in Quezon City, where he was filmed joking and making crude comments about the rape and murder of Jacquelline Hamill, who was taken hostage, raped and killed during a siege in 1989.

He implied the death of Ms Hamill was "a waste" because of her beauty, and said the mayor "should have been first" to rape her.

In a video uploaded to YouTube, Mr Duterte can be seen describing seeing Ms Hamill’s body, and saying: “I looked at her face – son of a b**ch- what a waste.

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

Mr Duterte said later that his comments were “not a joke” and that he had just been “talking plain sense narrative.”

He apologised to the Filipino people, and said “It is my style. It is my mouth. I said that in the heat of anger.”

Though polls indicate Mr Duterte’s comments have not affected his chances in the presidential race, political analyst Ramon Casiple said he may lose undecided voters, especially marginalised women.

“This may strike at the heart of his attraction,” said Mr Casiple, “His portrayal of himself as the champion of the masses.”