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In the Philippines, a Familiar Tone in Voice of Rodrigo Duterte In the Philippines, a Familiar Tone in Voice of Rodrigo Duterte
(about 3 hours later)
The front-runner in the Philippines presidential election, Rodrigo Duterte, held a large lead over his closest competitor on Monday, according to an unofficial tally of partial results. DAVAO CITY, Philippines — The front-runner in the Philippines presidential election, Rodrigo Duterte, held a large lead over his closest competitor on Monday, according to an unofficial tally of partial results.
After voting closed on Monday, results were to be transmitted electronically to a quick-count center in Manila, the capital, The Associated Press reported. Officials said a presumptive winner is not expected until at least 24 hours after the polls had closed. The Commission on Elections reported that with 83 percent of the votes counted, Mr. Duterte, the mayor of the southern city of Davao, had nearly double the number of votes of his nearest rival. Election officials said they would not announce the winner of the race until Tuesday, though one of the leading candidates, Senator Grace Poe, conceded defeat on Monday night and withdrew from the race.
Mr. Duterte, the mayor of the southern city of Davao, has run a campaign light on specific policies and heavy on tough talk. He has been likened to the presumptive Republican presidential nominee in the United States, Donald J. Trump. Mr. Duterte has never held national office and had been largely unknown outside the Philippines before he declared his candidacy last November. Since then, he has run a campaign light on specific policies and heavy on tough talk, earning him comparisons to the presumptive Republican presidential nominee in the United States, Donald J. Trump.
Like Mr. Trump, Mr. Duterte has run an outspoken campaign as a political outsider, and has drawn widespread criticism for his comments during the campaign. Like Mr. Trump, Mr. Duterte has cast himself as an outspoken political outsider, and has drawn widespread criticism for his comments.
He has alienated many people recently by joking about rape. He alienated many people recently by joking about rape.
At a campaign rally last month, he joked about the rape and murder of an Australian missionary during a 1989 prison riot in Davao. Mr. Duterte was also mayor at the time of the riot. At a campaign rally last month, he made light of the rape and murder of an Australian missionary during a 1989 prison riot in Davao. Mr. Duterte was mayor at the time of the riot.
“She looks like a beautiful American actress,” he said. “What a waste. They lined up and raped her. I was angry because she was raped. That’s one thing. But she was so beautiful. The mayor should have been first.”“She looks like a beautiful American actress,” he said. “What a waste. They lined up and raped her. I was angry because she was raped. That’s one thing. But she was so beautiful. The mayor should have been first.”
He later apologized for his comments, but Mr. Duterte’s blunt speech has riled voters throughout the campaign.He later apologized for his comments, but Mr. Duterte’s blunt speech has riled voters throughout the campaign.
He boasts about his sexual conquests.He boasts about his sexual conquests.
On the campaign trail, Mr. Duterte has reportedly bragged that he has two wives and two girlfriends, and admits that he’s a womanizer. He joked that he keeps his mistresses in a cheap boardinghouse and only takes them to motels for short sexual trysts. On the campaign trail, Mr. Duterte has been accused of groping female voters during rallies and has bragged about his voracious sexual appetite fueled by Viagra. He said at a campaign event that he has two wives and two girlfriends, and admitted that he is a womanizer. He joked that he keeps his mistresses in a cheap boardinghouse and only takes them to motels for short sexual trysts.
He has called for killing criminals.He has called for killing criminals.
Elected mayor of Davao City seven times, Mr. Duterte has bragged about his record in making the city safe from crime. In a speech last year, he reportedly said his strategy to fight criminals was, “kill them all.” Elected mayor of Davao City seven times, Mr. Duterte has touted his record in making the city safe from crime using extreme measures.
In a speech last year, he said his strategy to fight criminals was, “kill them all,” and he has said he would ignore or roll over those who would stand in his way.
His aggressive comments and violently-tough-on-crime position has earned him the nickname “Duterte Harry” — a reference to the character played by Clint Eastwood in the 1971 film, “Dirty Harry.”His aggressive comments and violently-tough-on-crime position has earned him the nickname “Duterte Harry” — a reference to the character played by Clint Eastwood in the 1971 film, “Dirty Harry.”
Mr. Duterte has been accused of having ties to death squads that carried out extrajudicial killings in Davao while he was mayor in the 1990s. If elected president, he said recently, he would aggressively pursue those who break the law, vowing to kill them himself and grant himself a presidential pardon.
Mr. Duterte has been accused of having ties to death squads that carried out extrajudicial killings in Davao during one of his previous terms as mayor, in the 1990s.
In a television interview during the campaign, he appeared to confirm his involvement in the killing of criminals in Davao, and reissued his “kill them all” rallying cry.In a television interview during the campaign, he appeared to confirm his involvement in the killing of criminals in Davao, and reissued his “kill them all” rallying cry.
Some citizens of Davao have praised his law-and-order approach. “The police do their job in this city,” said Giovanni Perucho, a bus driver. “That is because of Mayor Duterte. The criminals are afraid of the mayor, but the police are also afraid. They know they have to do their job, or else.”
Like Mr. Trump, he had choice words for Pope Francis.Like Mr. Trump, he had choice words for Pope Francis.
During the pope’s visit to Philippines last year, Mr. Duterte cursed Francis and his entourage for causing huge traffic delays in Manila. Despite the fact that the Philippines is more than 80 percent Catholic, Mr. Duterte said he hoped the pope would never visit again. During the pope’s visit to the Philippines last year, Mr. Duterte cursed Francis and his entourage for causing huge traffic jams in Manila — a perennial issue for Filipinos who endure grinding, daily delays. Despite the fact that the Philippines is more than 80 percent Catholic, Mr. Duterte said he hoped the pope would never visit again.
In January, he reportedly sent a letter of apology to the Vatican, and in February, during a visit with the bishop of Bacolod City, in the Philippines, he asked for forgiveness for his comments. “Pope, you son of a bitch, go home,” Mr. Duterte was reported to have said last November. “Don’t visit here anymore.”
In January, Mr. Duterte reportedly sent a letter of apology to the Vatican, and in February, during a visit with the bishop of Bacolod City, in the Philippines, he asked for forgiveness for his comments.
He has also cast doubt about the reliability of his country’s security alliance with the United States.He has also cast doubt about the reliability of his country’s security alliance with the United States.
The Philippines has been one of the United States’ oldest allies in Asia. Additionally, Mr. Duterte has been increasingly bellicose toward China, threatening to settle his country’s dispute with China over its claims to parts of the South China Sea by taking on the Chinese Navy himself on a Jet Ski.The Philippines has been one of the United States’ oldest allies in Asia. Additionally, Mr. Duterte has been increasingly bellicose toward China, threatening to settle his country’s dispute with China over its claims to parts of the South China Sea by taking on the Chinese Navy himself on a Jet Ski.
The connection between the Philippines and the United States dates from 1898, when the American sea captain, Commodore George Dewey, steamed into Manila Bay during a revolution against the country’s Spanish rulers. Mr. Duterte’s no-nonsense message of strong solutions to nagging problems has resonated with some Filipinos who have become tired of the more measured tones and cautious approach of President Benigno S. Aquino III.
Under a treaty that ended the Spanish-American War, the Philippines became a United States colony. The country’s 1935 constitution was modeled on the American one, and English became the language of the education system. Mr. Aquino has responded with alarm to the prospect of a Duterte presidency, saying that it is tantamount to a return to dictatorship, which the country experienced under President Ferdinand Marcos. He had called on other candidates to unite in order to defeat Mr. Duterte, but none of them agreed.
During World War II, American and Filipino troops fought together to liberate the Philippines from Japan. There are about 17,000 gravestones in the American cemetery in Manila.
The Philippines became independent in 1946, on a familiar date, July 4.