Manila: A tough talking mayor in the southern Philippines filed his certificate of candidacy for president, making his fans and followers hail him as a game-changer in the 2016 polls.
“Majority of Filipinos think that Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is a game-changer in next year’s elections,” said Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, a vice-presidential candidate in 2016.
“Duterte is now the fifth presidential candidate. Filipinos will have a wide range of candidates to choose from next year,” said Marcos on Friday after a representative filed Duterte’s certificate of candidacy at the Manila office of the Commission on Elections.
Overjoyed by Duterte’s change of mind, taxi driver Alfonso Cuevas said, “I’ve been rooting for Mayor Duterte. The Philippines needs a strong man.”
“He is now the strongest presidential candidate because of his support from vote-rich southern Philippines,” said political analyst Prospero de Ver.
The colourful mayor has irked human rights groups with his statements that he would kill drug lords, kidnappers, and other criminals.
He has exacted discipline in Davao City where no one smokes in public. Duterte is running under the Party of Democratic Philippines – Strength of the Nation (PDP Laban), replacing Martin Dino who was PDP’s former standard bearer in next year’s polls. Duterte also withdrew his certificate of candidacy for mayor of Davao City and chose his daughter Sara (a former mayor of Davao City), as his replacement.
Duterte has chosen Senator Alan Peter Cayetano as his running mate. But Senator Marcos is “still talking” with Duterte, sources said. Both Cayetano and Marcos have filed earlier their certificates of candidacy as vice-president.
After postponing his decision to run as president way beyond the deadline for presidential candidates to file their certificates of candidacy last month, Duterte decided to join the race of four other presidential aspirants after the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) ruled that Senator Grace Poe, who has topped popularity polls, did not violate a constitutional provision that only natural-born Filipino citizens could run for elected post in the Philippines.
“I don’t want to have an American president,” said Duterte. A foundling, Poe never found out who her parents were. Poe became an American citizen after her marriage to a Filipino-American in the late 80s.
Duterte has topped last week’s popularity rating of Poe, sources said. In earlier polls, Vice-President Jejomar Binay of opposition UNA ranked second to Poe, while former interior secretary Mar Roxas of the ruling Liberal Party ranked third.
