Leading Philippine presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte, whose campaign promises a ruthless war on crime, has been angrily condemned after a video surfaced of him joking about a murdered Australian rape victim.

Key points: Rodrigo Duterte appears in a video apparently joking about the rape of Jacqueline Hamill

Rodrigo Duterte appears in a video apparently joking about the rape of Jacqueline Hamill He has reportedly admitted ordering the shooting of the hostage-takers

He has reportedly admitted ordering the shooting of the hostage-takers Rivals, women's groups and commentators on social media quickly denounced his remarks

Mr Duterte, who promises mass killings of suspected criminals if elected next month, appears in a video uploaded on YouTube — since removed — making the joke about the female Australian missionary.

The missionary who was ministering in a prison in Davao in the southern Philippines was taken hostage, raped and killed during a riot by inmates in 1989.

"They raped all of the women ... There was this Australian lay minister ... when they took them out ... I saw her face and I thought, 'Son of a bitch. What a pity ... they raped her, they all lined up. I was mad she was raped but she was so beautiful. I thought, the mayor should have been first," Mr Duterte is shown telling a crowd of laughing supporters at a campaign rally.

Reports from the period, backed by Philippines media, name the Australian missionary as 36-year-old Jacqueline Hamill. Four other hostages were killed in the incident.

Mr Duterte was the city mayor at the time, and according to Rappler.com he had previously admitted to ordering the shooting of the hostage-takers on his television show "Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa".

Mr Duterte, who boasts of the extra-judicial killings of suspects by vigilantes during his time in Davao, is the preferred candidate in the run-up to the May 9 election, according to the latest opinion survey.

Comments draw widespread condemnation

His rivals, women's groups and commentators on social media quickly denounced his remarks.

A fellow missionary in Manila at the time of the incident in 1989, Robin Haines Merrill, took to Facebook to denounce Mr Duterte's candidacy.

"Jacqueline's death affected me deeply personally," she wrote, adding: "Don't vote for people who speak vile things against women".

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President Benigno Aquino's spokesman Herminio Coloma said the comments showed Mr Duterte's "lack of fitness for the presidency" and his "utter lack of respect for women".

Mr Aquino, who under the constitution cannot seek a second term, is supporting his former interior secretary Mar Roxas, who trails Mr Duterte in opinion surveys.

Rival presidential candidate, Vice President Jejomar Binay, called Mr Duterte's remarks "simply revolting".

"You are a crazy maniac who doesn't respect women and doesn't deserve to be president," Mr Binay told Mr Duterte in a statement.

Transcript of speech All the women were raped so during the first assault, because they retreated, the bodies they used as a cover, one of them was the corpse of the Australian woman lay minister. Tsk, this is a problem. When the bodies were brought out, they were wrapped. I looked at her face, son of a bitch, she looks like a beautiful American actress. Son of a bitch, what a waste. What came to mind was, they raped her, they lined up. I was angry because she was raped, that's one thing. But she was so beautiful, the mayor should have been first. What a waste. - Translated by Rappler.com

Another candidate, Senator Grace Poe, who is just behind Mr Duterte in the surveys, called his comment "distasteful and unacceptable, and reflects his disrespect for women".

One Filipino remarked on Twitter: "I broke down after watching Duterte on Aussie rape. I can't fathom how his followers can laugh at it".

Women's group Gabriela attacked Mr Duterte's remarks by saying rape or any other form of sexual abuse was not a joke "nor something to be trivialised in a joke", especially by someone seeking the presidency.

Many Filipinos have embraced Mr Duterte for his vulgarity-laced speeches, his boasts of sexual conquests and his promised war on crime.

Even when he called Pope Francis a "son of a whore" in a speech last November, his followers in the devoutly Catholic nation quickly forgave him.

A spokesmen for Mr Duterte had no immediate comment when approached by AFP. But Duterte media group head Peter Lavina told the Philippines' GMA News Online in a text message that a clarification will be provided.

Many of his followers brushed off the controversy.

"We won't apologise for he has done nothing wrong, it was a clear joke for God's sake," one Filipina supporter said on Twitter.

ABC/AFP