Boxer and Philippine Senate candidate Manny Pacquiao has apologised for denouncing people in gay relationships as "worse than animals" but said he stood by his opposition to same-sex marriage.
Fellow Filipino celebrities were among those criticising his remarks, made when a TV network asked candidates about their views on same-sex marriage.
“It’s just common sense,” Pacquiao said in the remarks posted online by the TV5 network. “Have you seen any animal having male-to-male or female-to-female relations?”
Animals, he said, were better because they recognise gender differences and “if you have male-to-male or female-to-female [relationships], then people are worse than animals”.
Pacquiao (37), a member of the House of Representatives, apologised via social media.
“I’m sorry for hurting people by comparing homosexuals to animals,” he said in a Facebook video. “Please forgive me for those I’ve hurt.”
In an Instagram post, he said he was not condemning anyone but was just expounding on a biblical truth and would rather obey God than obey “the desires of the flesh”.
Although he has come under fire for his chronic absences in Congress, Pacquiao is campaigning for a Senate seat and voter-preference surveys show him among the strong contenders. Many believe he will eventually take a crack at the presidency.
