Filipino boxing champion-turned-politician Manny Pacquiao has apologised for his comment that those who condone homosexuality are "worse than animals".

Pacquiao said on Facebook that although he still believes gay marriage is wrong, he was "not condemning LGBT". 

"God Bless you all and I'm praying for you," he added.

Pacquiao sparked controversy earlier this week, when, during an interview on local station TV5 he said: 

"It's common sense. Will you see any animals where male is to male and female is to female?

"The animals are better. They know how to distinguish male from female. If we approve [of] male on male, female on female, then man is worse than animals."

Pacquiao, a former world champion boxer, is a member of the Philippines house of representatives, and a popular politician in the country, where conservative views on sexuality are common, in part due to it being a Catholic nation.

His statement, however, sparked controversy and, according to the BBC, local gay rights organisation and political group Ladlad condemned his remarks:

His view "betrays a shallow understanding of sexual orientation and gender identity," the group wrote in a statement. This failure to understand gay rights issues would leave him in the past "when the cavemen ruled and the numbskulls roamed the earth."

The politician took to instagram to defend his comments, posting a picture of himself with his wife. He said: "I rather obey the Lord's command than obeying the desires of the flesh. I'm not condemning anyone, but I'm just telling the truth of what the Bible says."

He then quoted 1 Corinthians 6:9: "[9] Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men."

Pacquiao is running for senator in the May 2016 elections, having served in the House of Representatives for two years. The boxer-turned-politician converted to Christianity several years ago, after a dramatic encounter with God and what he described as a "conviction from the Holy Spirit".