Filipinos 'optimistic' about Rodrigo Duterte as president-elect, says Winnipeg journalist in Manila

The election of Rodrigo Duterte, who has been dubbed by critics as the "Filipino Donald Trump," as president-elect of the Philippines has been met with optimism by voters in that country and by some Filipinos in Manitoba, according to a Winnipeg-based journalist who is in Manila this week.

Duterte, who was the bombastic mayor of the southern Philippines city of Davao, led the unofficial vote count in Monday's election. Former interior secretary Mar Roxas, who was running in second place, has conceded defeat.

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"I talked to many people here in the Philippines, from cab drivers, hotel workers to teachers, and the vibe has been mostly positive with the unofficial results," Derick Ramos, a journalist with the Filipino Journal, told CBC News in a Skype interview Tuesday from the Philippines capital.

"They're very bright and optimistic about the future and that it's time for a change. The anti-crime and anti-corruption platform has appealed to the public."

Ramos said he has also seen some support for Duterte in Winnipeg, which has a large Filipino community.

"I've seen some Facebook posts over there. Half supported the Davao mayor, and I've seen some of these little bracelets in Winnipeg," he said, holding up a red, blue and yellowbracelet with Duterte's name on it.

"They're all over the streets of Philippines and [it's] the same thing in Winnipeg."

Derick Ramos, Filipino Journal reporter, talks about Philippines election results

8 years ago

Duration 2:19

Derick Ramos, a journalist with the Winnipeg-based Filipino Journal, speaks with the CBC's Marjorie Dowhos from Manila about the results of the Philippines election.

Results from the semi-official count gave Duterte an unassailable lead, thrusting him into national politics for the first time after 22 years as mayor of Davao and a government prosecutor before that.

In those two jobs, Duterte gained notoriety by going after criminals, although he was accused of carrying out hundreds of extra-judicial killings.

He has also captured domestic and international attention with speeches peppered with obscene jokes about sex and rape and anecdotes about his Viagra-fueled sexual escapades, and for undiplomatic remarks about Australia, the United States and China, all key players in the country's politics.

Duterte has been compared toTrump, the U.S. Republican presumptive presidential nominee, for his propensity for inflammable statements.

However, Ramos said the people he's spoken within the Philippines don't see Duterte that way.

"The sentiment is not shared here in the Philippines," he said.

"They're saying that Duterte is more of a unifier, and he has shown that with his opponents who have reached out to him and said that they will support him and have conceded already, and he's offered his friendship and his support to those opponents."