Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte says using condoms is like eating food without unwrapping it.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has suggested Filipinos avoid using condoms because they "aren't pleasurable" in the latest of many wisecracks that have outraged rights advocates and social welfare groups.

Duterte told returning overseas workers, mostly women, to use "free" contraceptive pills and illustrated his point by putting a wrapped piece of candy to his mouth.

"Here, try eating it without unwrapping it," he said.

"Eat it. That's what a condom is like."

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Health advocates have for years pushed for use of condoms in the country of 100 million people to reduce unintended pregnancies, the spread of HIV and sexually transmitted diseases.

They say, despite attempts by the Catholic church to restrict access to condoms, they have helped reduce the country's high maternal mortality rate.

Duterte's comments came only days after women's and rights groups condemned the former provincial mayor for encouraging soldiers to shoot female rebels in their genitals.

"Tell the soldiers … there's a new order from the mayor. We won't kill you. We will just shoot your vagina," he had told a group of former communist rebels.

"If there is no vagina, it would be useless," he said, appearing to imply that women are useless without their genitals.

Carlos Conde, the representative for Human Rights Watch in the Philippines, said it was irresponsible for the president to downplay the importance of condoms at a time when the Philippines was experiencing the fastest growing epidemic of HIV in the Asia-Pacific region.

"Instead of criticising condoms as a pleasurable inhibitor Duterte should take meaningful action to protect the health of Filipinos by backing urgently needed policy changes to expand the accessibility and use of condoms in the Philippines," Conde said.

Since taking office in 2016, Duterte has shrugged off outrageous comments, including telling a group of Indian and Filipino business leaders in New Delhi in January that he would like to attract visitors to the Philippines by offering "42 virgins".

While campaigning for the presidency, he joked about wanting to be first in line to rape a kidnapped Australian missionary because she was "beautiful".

He later apologised and said he did not intend to disrespect women.

In July 2017, he made rape jokes while talking about Miss Universe.

Earlier, he told soldiers battling Muslim fighters in the besieged southern city of Marawi they could rape up to three women a day without getting punished.

Often when challenged for making outrageous remarks Duterte has insisted he was just joking.

But his rule has been defined by violence, including a crackdown on drugs that has left more than 14,000 mostly poor Filipinos dead, the largest number of civilian deaths in Asia for decades.

Among his most colourful remarks was that fish in Manila Bay would grow fat from the bodies of drugs users and addicts.