(Analysis) Why President Duterte Rejects a Strategy of Tension Promoted by U.S.
2016-05-22 09:41:19 source：China-US Focus
By Dan Steinbock
May 20, 2016
"Following the alleged death squads in the war against crime and drugs, Time magazine nicknamed the next Philippine president, Rodrigo 'Rody' Duterte, the 'Punisher' already in 2002. More recently, the Washington Post defined him as a 'dangerous strong man' and 'populist demagogue', while New York Times opted for the term 'new strongman of Manila' (although Duterte has been the mayor of Davao since the 1980s). In turn, comedian John Oliver called him the 'Trump of the East,' while the Council for Foreign Relations sees his rise as a 'very troubling sign for the Philippines politics and for democracy in Southeast Asia.'
Indeed, toward the end of the 2016 election campaigns, U.S. observers have seen Rodrigo Duterte in dark terms, which reflects Washington’s unease with the new president's expected policies. In the Philippines, the majority of voters felt very differently. The 2016 election was widely debated among some 60 million voting-age Filipinos who represent a youthful nation of almost 100 million people at home and 10 million abroad. It attracted a historic 82% voter turnout."
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