Philippines Election: Polls Close with 'Punisher' Rodrigo Duterte Tipped to Win

Supporters of the presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

Manila, 01 Sya’ban 1437/09 May 2016 (MINA) – The Philippines has voted in a general election that opinion surveys suggest will see a tough-talking mayor, known as “the Punisher” for his lax attitude to extrajudicial killings, clinch the presidency.

Rodrigo Duterte, a 71-year-old ex-prosecutor, has run an obscenity-filled campaign in which he has boasted about Viagra-fuelled affairs and joked about raping a missionary.

Rights groups allege Duterte allowed death squads to kill more than 1,000 suspected criminals during his two decades as mayor of Davao City, an accusation he has at times denied and at other times bragged about, theguardian.com was quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

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The political establishment has warned that years of solid economic growth is threatened and foreign governments have looked on with trepidation as the country is a key regional player in the South China Sea dispute with Beijing.

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The front-page headline of the Philippine Star on Monday summed up the anxiety: “It’s judgment day.”

With less than 4% of precincts reporting results on Monday evening, an unofficial tally showed Duterte was leading with more than 600,000 votes, nearly double that of the next candidate.

Filipinos carrying umbrellas to shelter from the glaring sun headed to public buildings in the capital Manila, many walking through empty streets normally packed with cars.

At a school in the central financial Makati district, one of the automated voting machines had broken, leading to a long line and one person saying they would give up and go home.

The election commission reported no major complications and hoped to declare a victor within 24 hours. That timeframe could be delayed as polling stations stayed open an hour longer to 6pm (1000 GMT) to accommodate voters.

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In his last campaign speech on Saturday, Duterte, whose quick-fix plans to end crime have wooed voters, said there would be mass killings of criminals under his presidency.

“Forget the laws on human rights,” he said. “If I make it to the presidential palace, I will do just what I did as mayor. You drug pushers, hold-up men and do-nothings, you better go out. Because … I’d kill you.”

Christian Quedado, 22, said he believed Duterte was an “honest person and everything he says will happen”, adding that the mayor’s anti-crime success in Davao would be taken nationwide.

“I don’t agree with killing. I just think he will have an alternate plan to stop crime … He knows what he is doing.”

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Voters are also drawn to Duterte’s promise to tackle corruption in a country that has experienced 6% economic growth on average while residents of slums still struggle to buy food. Many are frustrated with the political status quo in which a small clique governs the country.

Mo Neria, 32, a banker voting in the Makati district, said all candidates have similar agendas on the economy but people were voting for Duterte because of his “iron fist”. He added that, despite years of strong economic growth, “not everyone has benefited. Especially people in the provinces.”

Duterte’s opponents are most fearful of his threats to abolish congress or create a revolutionary government. The Philippines, the first democracy in south-east Asia, prides itself on ousting late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986. (T/R07/R01)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)