Rodrigo Duterte has declared victory in the Philippines’ presidential election, beating his closest challenger by more than 15 percent of the vote.
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Duterte – the former mayor of Davao – has attracted crowds with his tough talk and has often been likened to United States businessman and presidential hopeful Donald Trump. The victor is decided on a simple majority of votes cast.
Duterte has made bellicose remarks during the campaign, vowing to fight corruption and poor governance.
President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino is standing down as the constitution limits presidents to one six-year term.
“I will do everything to serve the interests of the Filipino people, even if it would cost my life, honor and the office of the president”, Duterte said.
“It’s with humility, extreme humility, that I accept this, the mandate of the people”, Duterte told Agence France Presse. The hardline “anti-crime” candidate, who has proposed increasing police and military salaries to decrease corruption and improve crime fighting, credited his focus on “law and order” for his long-standing lead in polls. In the case of drug addicts, he said “either you will kill me or I’ll kill you, idiots”.
“If I make it to the presidential palace, I will do just what I did as mayor [of Davao]”. You drug pushers, hold-up men and do-nothings, you better go out. “I wish you success”.
Duterte caused further disgust in worldwide diplomatic circles with a joke that he wanted to rape a “beautiful” Australian missionary who was killed in a 1989 Philippine prison riot.
“They raped all of the women”. There was this Australian lay minister.
“I expect the new president to continue the reforms implemented by the Aquino administration, especially in keeping the country’s image of having a corrupt-free government, which increased foreign investment”, she said. What a pity … they raped her, they all lined up.’ I was mad she was raped but she was so attractive.
“We look forward to working with the leader that the Philippines has elected”, she said.
His spokesman Peter Lavina said one of the rules Duterte will enforce is a night-time curfews for minors after 10 pm and a ban on the serving of alcohol after midnight would also be considered. In those two jobs, Mr Duterte gained recognition by going after criminals, although he was also accused of carrying out hundreds of extrajudicial killings.
His election campaign has also focused on reforming the economy, infrastructure, and on solving the territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.
Duterte had 14.9 million votes, with the government’s candidate Manuel Roxas second with 8.9 million, followed by Poe with 8.3 million votes.
She has admitted defeat, saying: “I respect the results”. China, he said, could shoot him and turn him into a national hero. His predecessor as president, Benigno Aquino III, has recently been active in reviving a more active USA military role in the islands’ affairs in return for money and for helping the Philippines stand up to China’s ambitions in the region – in particular, the quarrel with China over the Spratly rocks and shoals in the South China Sea.
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Robredo was leading with 80,900 more votes than Marcos, popularly known by his nickname “Bongbong”. As the counting continued, the tough-talking mayor had garnered 38.6 percent of the votes, almost 16 percentage points ahead of the next candidate in the five-person race. At least 11 people were killed in violence before voting started, but otherwise the election was mostly smooth.
