The President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte claims prisoners are ‘beyond reform’ because they have turned gay.

The claim comes from President Duterte, a controversial and outspoken leader who is notorious for making prejudiced comments. In a speech this week he defended the justice system in the country, over international fears about his enthusiastic support for executions of accused criminals.

Duterte claimed that even if criminals are sent to prison, they become “beyond reform” because they “would have acquired latent homosexuality”.

According to the Manila Times, he said: “[Convicts] are already monsters in the sense that they are incapable of establishing a relationship with a woman.

“They develop aberration of the mind. They do not want to get out of prison because they get free food there…and they have lovers, they want to return to prison [to be] with their lovers.”

He insisted: “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. That’s the basic law of the jungle. If you did kill someone, you pay for it with your life. It is retribution.” The Philippines is one of the most LGBT-friendly countries in Asia, with a 2014 poll finding that 73 percent of Filipinos believe homosexuality should be accepted. Read more via Pink News