Firebrand mayor Rodrigo Duterte set to clinch Philippines presidency
Popular candidate Grace Poe concedes defeat to Duterte
Firebrand city mayor Rodrigo Duterte looked virtually certain to become the Philippines' next president as election results poured in on Monday, confirmation that the political outsider's pledges to crush crime and corruption had resonated with voters.
Five hours after polling stations had closed, a rolling ballot count by an election commission-accredited watchdog showed that Duterte had about 39 per cent of the votes cast. An exit poll of a small number of voters showed a similar lead.
And shortly after, candidate Grace Poe conceded defeat to Duterte.
- Rodrigo Duterte, the Filipino Donald Trump, favoured to win presidential race
- Philippines under pressure to find group that beheaded Canadian John Ridsdel
- Abu Sayyaf has 25-year record of kidnappings and bombings
Poe, a popular senator who had led in opinion polls in earlier stages of campaigning, had won over a fifth of votes by 9 a.m. ET, but trailed Duterte by a substantial margin during the vote count.
"I'm giving way, I respect the results," she told a news conference. "Duterte has a mandate. Let's give him a chance."
Asked by a television interviewer what he thought about his apparent victory, Duterte gave a puzzling answer.
Sometimes I'm victorious and the winner, sometimes there's always losing and being sad, sometimes being sick and healthy.- Duterte's, to CNN about his apparent victory
"Sometimes I'm victorious and the winner, sometimes there's always losing and being sad, sometimes being sick and healthy," he told CNN Philippines, slouched in a chair and dressed casually in a checked, short-sleeve shirt.
"That is how the universe is being played every day."
Some, like the Washington Post, have compared Duterte to U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for Duterte's aggressive defiance of political tradition and his references to his libido. Comedian John Oliver referred to the 71-year-old as 'Trump of the East.'
His man-of-the-people demeanour tapped into popular disgust with the political establishment over its failure to tackle poverty and inequality despite several uninterrupted years of robust economic growth.
His incendiary rhetoric and advocacy of extrajudicial killings to stamp out crime and drugs have, however, alarmed many who hear echoes of the Southeast Asian country's authoritarian past.
The election numbers reported by the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) had, by 10:20 a.m. ET, accounted for about 70 per cent of the 54 million registered Filipino voters. Duterte had 12.1 million votes, with Senator Grace Poe and the government's candidate, Manuel Roxas, far behind with about 6.8 million each.
The PPCRV count is not official so confirmation of Duterte's victory looked likely to come from his rivals conceding defeat.
Divisive campaign
In an early indication of his unorthodoxy, Duterte told reporters on Monday that if he became president he would seek multilateral talks to resolve disputes over the South China Sea. The outgoing administration has asked a court of arbitration in The Hague to recognise its right to exploit waters in the South China Sea, a case it hoped could bolster claims by other countries against Beijing in the resource-rich waters.
Duterte said negotiations should include Japan, Australia and the United States, which is traditionally the region's dominant security player and contests Beijing's development of islands and rocky outcrops in the South China Sea.
The presidential race was one of the most divisive in years, with outgoing leader Benigno Aquino and rival candidates warning of a disaster if Duterte makes good on his promises.
Duterte talked of making peace with his rivals after a "virulent" campaign and reiterated that, as president, he would give police a green light to use deadly force against criminals.
If you feel your life is in jeopardy, shoot. You have my authority.- Duterte, on giving police the green light to use deadly force against criminals
"If they put up a good fight and refuse to surrender and if you feel your life is in jeopardy, shoot. You have my authority," he said in Davao City, where he has been mayor for 22 years.
However, Duterte's entertaining speeches, often loaded with profanities, have shed little light on his policies beyond going after gangsters and drug pushers. He has been vague on what he would do to spur an economy that has averaged growth at around 6 percent under Aquino.
At least 11 people were killed in violence before voting started, but otherwise the election was mostly smooth with voting machine problems at only a few dozen polling stations.
Voters also cast ballots for the vice president, 300 lawmakers and about 18,000 local government officials.
"Bongbong" Marcos Jr., the son and namesake of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, looked on course to become vice president with a narrow lead as the votes were being counted.