Millions of Filipinos lined up Monday in blazing heat to elect a new President in a race whose frontrunner is a brash Mayor, who has been compared to Donald Trump and is known for his sex jokes, pledges to kill criminals and a promise to end corruption within six months.
Weary of poverty, crime, corruption and insurgencies in the hinterlands, voters are looking for a radical change at the top, and hope the man to lead it is Rodrigo Duterte (71), Mayor of the southern city of Davao who has held a lead over rivals in all opinion polls.
An ex-prosecutor, Mr. Duterte successfully tapped into discontent, and voters appear willing to overlook his unashamedly crude language. “I have no patience, I have no middle ground, either you kill me or I will kill you,” he said on Saturday, referring to those into drugs.
