Manila: President Benigno Aquino admitted that he has been dating Korean TV talk show host and anchor Grace Lee.
"We're seeing each other," Aquino, 51, said in a news conference.
When asked for details, Aquino said reporters should respect his privacy.
His former girlfriend Shalani Soledad, who was elected to the council of suburban Bulacan in May 2010, was married to Congressman Roman Romulo on January 22.
She was introduced as his girlfriend during the campaign period for the 2010 elections. But they broke up in early 2011.
But even before the May 2010 elections were over, Aquino hinted that a president needed full time focus on his job, and that marriage was out of the question.
Since his break-up with Shalani, he was linked to many other women, but none of them ever became his permanent girlfriend.
The media have been following Aquino's love life as he is the country's first bachelor president.
Meanwhile, in a paper titled, It's the Economy, Student, former president Gloria Arroyo said Aquino had been "encouraging gossip about one's love life in which no one can possibly be interested".
Criticism
Arroyo added: "Neither the president nor anyone else can truly expect to govern the next five years with nothing but a sorry mix of vilification, periodically recycled promises of action followed by lethargy, backed up by few, if any, results."
Arroyo has been accredited with helping the country's growth in 2010 through various economic reforms. She is currently under arrest following accusations of rigging the 2007 congressional elections.
