Philippine Presidential Bet Duterte “Badder Than Bad” To Druggies, Criminals And Rapists, Echoing Trump

Philippine presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte intends to be “badder than bad” to drug lords, criminals, and rapists, as was reflected in his official candidacy speech on Monday, November 30, 2015. Named during the crime-fighting mayor’s colorful rant was Pope Francis, whose devotees took offense, while Duterte remained unfazed like United States presidential contender Donald Trump to critics of his brash remarks. In his nationally televised speech, Philippine presidential bet and Davao City Mayor Duterte did not change his tone about his homicidal bent toward “bad people,” but his diatribe about Manila traffic congestion included an expletive for Pope Francis, whose visit caused the gridlock. The speech, running close to an hour and a half, covered such diverse topics as crime, politics, and Duterte’s fondness for women, including four simultaneous relationships he has with them. Recounting a five-hour traffic delay in January as he was headed for the Manila airport, Duterte asked what the slowdown was about, and was advised of road closures due to the Pope’s Philippine visit. Presidential bet Duterte told supporters of his party, P.D.P.-Laban (Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan), that the traffic mess made him want to buzz the pontiff and say (in Tagalog): “Pope, (expletive), go home, don’t visit here.”

Elaborating on Manila’s endemic road problems, the Philippine presidential aspirant promised to avoid a traffic-disrupting event at the Luneta park if he wins, much preferring to take his oath of office in front of no more than 100 guests from the diplomatic corps and the Armed Forces in an office. His bet on a successful resolution to traffic woes is based on not molesting the lives of people and their business, but “to improve the lives of everyone.” According to Philstar, Philippine presidential bet Rodrigo Duterte denied swearing at Pope Francis in his proclamation rally. In a public apology issued on Wednesday, December 2, Duterte explained he was grouching at the government’s incompetence in traffic jam avoidance during the papal visit.

“I sincerely express sadness and regret that the part of my speech mentioning Pope Francis in relation to the monstrous traffic gridlock in January came across as being disrespectful to his Holiness Pope Francis. It was farthest from my mind and was never my intention. I acknowledge that I should have explained better my point on the traffic gridlock.”

Compared to U.S. presidential contender Donald Trump on a warpath against drug smugglers, criminals and rapists, Philippine Mayor Duterte touts himself in a presidential capacity as a strong bet against such undesirables. He has warned criminal elements in his native Cebuano that if they wanted to be bad, he could be “badder.” In an Inquirer account of a typical Duterte scenario, the Philippine presidential aspirant gave drug pushers 48 hours on October 26 to leave Davao City or be killed. At a command conference with law enforcement agencies on a Monday afternoon at Davao’s Grand Men Seng Hotel, the crime-fighting mayor bet on mass compliance to his clean-up of a drug-infested area.

“If you are into drugs, I’m warning you. I’m giving you 48 hours, 48 hours. If I see you there, I’ll have you killed.”

The tough-talking mayor and Philippine presidential contender warned drug-pushers that he knew where they lived and they’d been tagged. So if he saw them, they could bet that they would be finished off.

While the Philippine presidential hopeful enjoys squelching drug activity in Davao, Metro Manila continues to be a losing bet for fighting drugs, rating highest with 92.10 percent saturation among the region’s barangays affected. Next in line is Region 4A (Southern Tagalog) at 33.78 percent. In terms of criminality in government, the Philippine presidential bet has his eye on the Bureau of Customs identified as the most corrupt government agency on August 27, in a Social Weather Stations (S.W.S.) survey of businessmen. Duterte favors the privatization of the B.O.C., which was rated “very bad” among the 36 government offices included in the 2014/2015 S.W.S. survey of enterprises on corruption. According to Sun-Star, vice-presidential candidate Alan Peter Cayetano is placing his bet on running-mate Duterte to prevail against criminality. Cayetano challenged Duterte critics with the following statement.

“Duterte stands for order, not violence. Instead of attacking Mayor Duterte, let’s duly recognize his accomplishments, learn and find ways how his success can be replicated in other cities.”

Philippine enigma Duterte stands out as a coarse-tongued, results-oriented presidential bet. [Photo by Bullit Marquez/AP Images]