InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5
NEW YORK -- President Benigno Aquino on Tuesday voiced sympathy for gay rights but said he had mixed feelings about whether gay couples should adopt children in the mostly Catholic nation.
On a visit to New York, Aquino initially declined to delve into a question on gay marriage but then added: "Adults should be able to do whatever you want as long as you don't harm anybody else."
"But if the next step happens to be, we want the right to adopt, then I would be in a dilemma," he said at the Asia Society.
"We also have to from the get-go address that particular issue," he said. "My priority would be looking after the child, who has a very tender and impressionable mind."
Gay marriage has been growing in acceptance around the world, with New York state legalizing same-sex unions in July. No Asian nation allows gay marriage, although proposals have made headway in Nepal and Taiwan.
The Philippines has a vibrant gay scene despite a macho culture and opposition from the Roman Catholic Church. The Philippines has an official gay political party and in 1994 was the site of Asia's first gay pride march.
