DAVAO CITY, Philippines—The intention of Ang Ladlad, the political party representing gays, lesbians, and transsexuals, to join the elections through the party-list system is being supported by this city’s tough-talking mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

Duterte has expressed support for Ang Ladlad’s bid for accreditation, saying Election Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer’s justification for excluding the gay organization was a form of “bigotry to the highest order.”

He said the group must bring its case before the Supreme Court and said he would have offered his legal services for free, had he been a practicing lawyer.

“I’m very much willing to handle a case to be filed before the Supreme Court. I think they should go to the SC and seek a ruling there. You (Ferrer) are lucky because I would have been the first one to lead protests actions against you had I been gay…and what if I am gay? Is that a problem?” said Duterte during his weekly television program “Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa.”

Ferrer, who heads the Comelec second division, said Ang Ladlad party has been advocating “immoral doctrines,” including “intimate and sexual relations with individuals of a different gender, of the same gender or more than one gender.”

“The advocacy for intimate sexual relations reflected that petitioner [Ang Ladlad] tolerates immorality, which offends religious beliefs. This petition is dismissible on moral grounds,” Ferrer said.

But Duterte countered this.

“That statement is bigotry to the highest order. You cannot deny representation of any group. Who are you to deny them? That’s showing your prejudice against them. If Filipinos want to fill Congress with gays, so be it,” he said.

He said gays, who have proven their worth in a discriminating society, must not be judged because of their sexual preference.

“For as long they have the capability to lead…And this world needs gays. Look, when your wives need to look beautiful, they run to gays for help,” he said.

He said the decision of Ferrer might affect how the government would treat gays.

“That’s not a good policy of the government. That cannot be. That (the right of Ang Ladlad to seek representation in Congress) is embodied in the freedom of expression,” Duterte said.

Danton Remoto, one of the ranking officials of Ang Ladlad, has called the Comelec 2nd division ruling a violation of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, which states that “the ideal of free human beings enjoying civil and political freedom and freedom from fear and want can only be achieved if conditions are created whereby everyone may enjoy his civil and political rights, as well as his economic, social, and cultural rights.”