Leadership race fades into sideshows amid real issues
SUBIC BAY: Rodrigo Duterte, the outspoken mayor of Davao and the frontrunner in the Philippines’ presidential election, told voters recently that he would settle territorial disputes in the South China Sea by taking on the Chinese navy on a personal watercraft.
The candidate’s bravado worries some voters. “If Duterte wins, it will be frightening,” said Joyce Asilo, 30, a Manila resident who was visiting Subic Bay, a former US base. “He could start a war with China. He’s very inconsistent in what he says.”
The country’s relationship with China is one of the issues facing voters in the Philippines today, as they elect hundreds of government officials — from president to mayors — to address a raft of problems that threaten to derail the Philippine economy, one of the fastest growing in Asia. But the presidential race has devolved into a series of off-colour jokes, threats, namecalling and allegations about hidden bank accounts.
Mr Duterte, who has a substantial lead in the polls, has joked that he would have liked to have raped an Australian missionary who was killed in a 1989 prison riot in Davao City and said that disabled people should consider suicide. He has been accused of having a secret bank account with hundreds of millions of pesos in ill-gotten wealth. He is running on a strict law-andorder platform and has denied accusations of corruption, but has also refused to reveal details about the account.
Another presidential contender, VicePresident Jejomar Binay, is under investigation by the country’s top corruption agency in connection with allegations that he and his family siphoned hundreds of millions of pesos from a government project in Makati, where he was once the mayor. He has called the charges politically motivated.
Grace Poe, a senator, and Mar Roxas, who was endorsed by President Benigno Aquino III and is the grandson of a former president, are also trailing in the polls. Mr Roxas has a distinguished resume of government service, but he has been repeatedly mocked by Filipino social media users because of photo opportunities gone wrong, including one in which he took a spill on a motorcycle during a disaster relief operation.
“I don’t know what to believe,” said Carla Yanga, a 25-year-old resident of Pasig, on the outskirts of Manila. “I like Roxas, but my parents are voting for Duterte. I don’t know.”
The talk of scandals, allegations and ferocious social media posts has overshadowed the challenges facing the country. Despite strong economic growth and resurgent foreign investment, the Philippines still has high levels of poverty and unemployment, crumbling infrastructure and a raging war in the southern part of the country against insurgents and kidnap-for-ransom gangs.
The new government must also grapple with territorial claims by China in the South China Sea in an area that includes much of the Philippines’ 320km exclusive economic zone along its western coastline.
Mr Aquino, who cannot run again because of term limits, has responded by challenging China’s claims in a UN arbitration court and by making a deal with the United States that would increase the number of US ships and aircraft operating in the Philippines.
Mr Aquino has refused to talk directly to China about the issue and has insisted that multilateral forums, including Asean, deal with the matter so the multiple claimants can present a united front against China.
The main presidential candidates support Philippine claims in the South China Sea and back the case against China at the international court, but Mr Binay and Mr Duterte also support holding direct talks with China.
None of the candidates is calling for the cancellation of the military deal with the United States, although some have called for it to be re-examined.
Mr Duterte and Mr Binay seek a more conciliatory approach toward China and accuse Mr Aquino of being too confrontational. Both candidates have suggested engaging in joint investment projects with the Chinese.
Gregory Poling, the director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, which tracks developments in the South China Sea, said it was unlikely that support for international arbitration and the military deal with the United States would change.
“No matter who is elected, the new president isn’t going to be able to engineer any sharp policy turns on the South China Sea; it is simply too prominent an issue with the electorate,” Mr Poling said.
He added, however, that he was concerned about comments Mr Duterte had made about the reliability of the alliance with the United States.