'Trump' candidate declares victory in Philippines' presidential race
Tough-talking political maverick Rodrigo Duterte declared victory Monday night in the Philippines’ presidential election, promising his people that he will "do my very best not just in my waking hours but even in my sleep."
Duterte, 71, the mayor of the southern city of Davao who has drawn comparisons to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, held 38.7% of the vote with 90% of precincts reporting. Manuel “Mar” Roxas, backed by current president Benigno Aquino, held 23.3% and Grace Poe, the adopted daughter of Philippine movie stars, held 21.7%.
"It's with humility, extreme humility, that I accept this, the mandate of the people," Duterte told Agence France Presse. "What I can promise you is that I will do my very best not just in my waking hours but even in my sleep."
After Poe called Duterte to congratulate him, she gave a short concession speech at her campaign headquarters in Tagalog. Poe told supporters that they ran a good campaign and that she respected the results of the polls.
Roxas conceded defeat in a speech. "I wish you success, Mayor Duterte. Your success is the success of the Filipino people," he said.
Around 55 million out of a total population of 100 million people were expected to cast ballots.
Duterte's political rise has come amid vows to be tough on crime and corruption. However, he has courted controversy throughout the campaign, making an almost endless stream of off-color remarks from bragging about his womanizing ways to crude comments about gang rape to publicly cursing Pope Francis.
As mayor of Davao on restive Mindanao Island, Duterte has won praise from supporters for cleaning up the city’s drug and crime problems, but he has advocated unusual and violent tactics including using death squads. According to Human Rights Watch, Duterte is responsible 1,000 extrajudicial killings.
"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 as the mayor, I'd kill you,” Duterte said during his last campaign stop on Saturday. He vowed to execute 100,000 more criminals and dump their bodies in Manila Bay.
In a televised interview after the polls closed Monday, Duterte said that if he were elected, his top priority in his first 100 days would be fixing government and stopping corruption. “I can do that immediately as president,” he said. “Then I have to go after the drug problem and of course the criminals in this country,” he told Philippine news agency Rappler.
“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.
Police said at least 15 people were killed in election-related violence and more than 4,000 arrested for violating a gun ban, according to the Associated Press.