He’s a boorish, no nonsense kind of guy. He’s loud, crude, and boastful and he eagerly awaits any chance to tear down political correctness. He cursed out Pope Francis earlier this year for causing traffic jams when the pontiff visited his country. He defies political gravity by repeatedly making remarks that would doom the candidacy of any other politician – only to see his poll numbers skyrocket.
No, we aren’t talking about Donald Trump. We are talking about Rodrigo Duterte – the likely next president of the Philippines.
Duterte, a 71-year-old former prosecutor, has spent the last 22 years as the mayor of Davao City in the southern Philippines. He gained a national reputation when he waged a scorched-earth style war on drugs – allegedly even using vigilante “death squads” to clean up his city’s streets.
This vicious crime fighting strategy has earned Duterte nicknames like “The Punisher” and “Duterte Harry” – his campaign vans even play a Clint Eastwood-inspired theme song when they drive through towns.
But rather than trying to soften his reputation for brash brutality, Duterte is using it to bolster his presidential candidacy. In this ad from his campaign, dubbed “Disiplina,” Robin Padilla, a Filipino action movie star, stresses that what his country needs is “Discipline” – not just to fight crime, but in every day life.
He says that his country’s lack of discipline is why their trains don’t run on time, their airports barely operate, and their government is full of corruption. The prescription Padilla offers is the order Duterte promises to bring to the table as president.
Sound familiar?
No, we aren’t talking about Donald Trump. We are talking about Rodrigo Duterte – the likely next president of the Philippines.
They Call Him ‘Duterte Harry’
Duterte, a 71-year-old former prosecutor, has spent the last 22 years as the mayor of Davao City in the southern Philippines. He gained a national reputation when he waged a scorched-earth style war on drugs – allegedly even using vigilante “death squads” to clean up his city’s streets.
This vicious crime fighting strategy has earned Duterte nicknames like “The Punisher” and “Duterte Harry” – his campaign vans even play a Clint Eastwood-inspired theme song when they drive through towns.
But rather than trying to soften his reputation for brash brutality, Duterte is using it to bolster his presidential candidacy. In this ad from his campaign, dubbed “Disiplina,” Robin Padilla, a Filipino action movie star, stresses that what his country needs is “Discipline” – not just to fight crime, but in every day life.
He says that his country’s lack of discipline is why their trains don’t run on time, their airports barely operate, and their government is full of corruption. The prescription Padilla offers is the order Duterte promises to bring to the table as president.
Make Manila Great Again
Duterte is holding a strong lead in opinion polls ahead of the country’s May 9 election, according to Reuters. His lead is much to the dismay of many Filipino business leaders, diplomats and investors who see Duterte as a joke who has no concrete policy standpoints outside of simply being obnoxious.Sound familiar?