'Kill them' Duterte leads at end of Philippine presidential campaign
MANILA May 7 (AFP)-Mass murder advocate Rodrigo Duterte heads into today's final rallies of an extraordinary Philippine presidential campaign as the shock favourite, but with rivals still a chance to counter his profanity-laced populist tirades.
Duterte, a pugnacious 71-yearold, has rocked the political establishment with cuss-filled vows to kill tens of thousands of criminals, threats to establish one-man rule if lawmakers disobey him, and promises to embrace communist rebels.
He has also caused disgust in international diplomatic circles with a joke that he wanted to rape a “beautiful” Australian missionary who was killed in a 1989 Philippine prison riot, and boasted repeatedly on the campaign trail about his Viagra-fuelled affairs.
President Benigno Aquino, whose mother led the democracy movement that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos a generation ago, has warned the nation is at risk of succumbing to another dictatorship.
But Duterte's anti-establishment rhetoric and promises of quick fixes to deep-rooted problems have proved hypnotic for mil- lions of Filipinos, and he heads into Monday's election with an 11-percentage-point lead over his rivals, according to the latest survey.
Senator Grace Poe, the adopted daughter of a late movie star, and establishment bedrock Mar Roxas, are tied in second place. Vice President Jejomar Binay, the early favourite, has fallen to fourth place under the weight of a barrage of corruption allegations.
While Duterte, the long-time mayor of the southern city of Davao, is undeniably the favourite, he lacks the sophisticated political machinery of some of his rivals and is not guaranteed victory, according to Manila-based political analyst Earl Parreno.
Roxas, a US-educated investment banker who served as interior and transport secretaries in Aquino's administration, is in the strongest position to challenge, Parreno, from the Institute of Political and Electoral Reforms, told AFP.
Roxas can expect a boost of about five percentage points from the machinery of the Liberal Party, which can use its money and influence to get people into voting booths, according to Parreno.