President Benigno Aquino III rejected the prevailing public perception that Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s landslide victory in the presidential election is a protest vote against his six years in office.
In an interview with Time Magazine, Aquino said: “Is it a repudiation? I don’t think so.”
Duterte ran on a campaign promise of change, specifically using an iron fist to crush the rising criminality and drug menace which flourished under the Aquino administration.
Aquino called Duterte a “dictator” and likened him to Hitler in the last two weeks of the campaign period in a futile attempt to thwart his impending Victory as Duterte had built a two-digit lead over his rivals in the pre-election surveys.
Aquino said that Duterte would soon wake up to the reality of governing within defined laws, time and resources.
“He (Duterte) might be presented with facts that he was not aware of in the campaign. Undoubtedly he has begun to recognize that certain rhetoric that was allowed in the campaign might not be allowed in governance. He will adjust to the realities of governance,” said Aquino.
Aquino also questioned how many of the nearly 16 million Filipinos voted for Duterte only because he was a sure winner.
Aquino said: “Well, we will study it but [his victory] was about a successful campaign. Even that 40 percent [of the electorate that voted for Duterte], without taking anything away from them, what portion is always interested in being on the winning side?”
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