A kiss by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on a Filipino woman's lips while on an official visit in South Korea sparked anger and jokes Monday, as feminists denounced what they called his "perverted way" of taunting his female critics.

Many Filipinos, however, thought it was a harmless kiss intended to be fun.

The 73-year-old Duterte, whose critics have labelled as a misogynist and say his comments are derogatory and demeaning toward women, dismissed the kiss as just a "gimmick" to entertain supporters at a meet-and-greet event in Seoul.