Rodrigo Duterte curses the pope’s mother and jokes about his own infidelities, but many voters in the Philippines want to elect him president so he can begin an unprecedented war on crime. / AFP PHOTO / NOEL CELIS
(Eagle News) – Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte is leading the race for the presidency, while Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., snatched the lead in the vice-presidential survey from previous front-runner Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, in the latest Social Weather Stations poll.
The First Quarter 2016 Social Weather Survey was conducted last March 30-April 2 via face-to-face interviews with 1,500 adults nationwide (of whom 1,377 or 92% are validated voters) and with sampling error margins of ±3 points.
It showed Duterte with a score of 27%, followed by senator Grace Poe’s 23%, Vice-President Jejomar Binay’s 20%, and Mar Roxas’s 18%.
At the bottom was Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago with 3%.
The latest SWS polls also showed Marcos Jr., leading in the vice-presidential surveys with a steady 26%, overrunning Escudero who fell to 21% from his previous 31% in the last March 31 survey.
The administration vice-presidential bet Leni Robredo maintained her third spot, but also saw her rates dropping from the previous 25% to just 19% in the latest SWS polls. She was followed by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano who maintained his 13%, and senators Gregorio Gringo Honasan and Antonio Trillanes III who both tied with 5%.
Meanwhile, in the vice-presidential debate on Sunday (April 10) of CNN Philippines, Marcos Jr., was jeered at by the audience when asked about issues of corruption, political dynasty and human rights abuses.
The son and namesake of the late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos came under attack over his father’s record of corruption and rights abuse.
Senator Marcos came under fire from both the audience and rival vice-presidential candidates in the debate.
Even before he could speak, a group of protesters had to be escorted out of the auditorium because they refused to stop jeering him.
Marcos Jr., touted more than two decades of experience in government, calling himself dedicated to the people.
But rival candidates and moderators raised the massive corruption and human rights violations during his father’s rule. Members of the audience booed Marcos Jr. as he answered some questions.
Marcos Senior ruled the Philippines for 20 years, much of the time under martial law, until a military-backed popular revolt sent him and his family fleeing into exile in 1986.
The family was allowed to return home after he died in Hawaii in 1989 and has made a remarkable political comeback.
Marcos Jr. has been at the forefront, getting elected to the House of Representatives and then the powerful Senate before mounting his bid for the vice-presidency.
The Marcos family has never admitted any wrongdoing and Bong-bong Marcos has depicted his father’s rule as a virtual golden age, angering the many victims of the regime who are still alive.
Challenged during the debate about charges his family stole $10 billion during his father’s term, Marcos Jnr. responded: “I can say that I have never been touched by corruption.”
Asked if he would apologise for his father’s human rights abuses, he replied, “I can only apologise for myself. I cannot apologise for anyone else.”
He brushed aside allegations of massive corruption, saying that “all those big numbers came out of nowhere.”
If Marcos Jr, 58, wins the vice presidency, he would be well positioned for a run at the top post at the next elections in 2022.
(with a report from Agence France Press)