MANILA, Philippines —
The outspoken city mayor who is the front-runner in the Philippine presidential race drew the largest crowd Saturday as the candidates held their final rallies, despite efforts by the president to block his election bid over fears he could threaten the country’s democracy.
After crisscrossing the archipelago nation, the five presidential candidates, led by Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, converged in the vote-rich capital Manila as three months of bruising campaigning came to an end ahead of Monday’s election.
About 300,000 people turned up at Duterte’s rally at a historic grandstand by Manila Bay where presidential inaugurations have been held, according to an initial police estimate. Crowds at the other candidates’ gatherings were much smaller based on police counts.
“All of you who are into drugs, you sons of (explitive), I will really kill you,” Duterte told the huge crowd, using his typically coarse style of speaking. He said he would risk his life to fulfill a bold promise to end crime and corruption within months if he wins.
“I have no patience, I have no middle ground, either you kill me or I will kill you idiots,” he said as the crowd cheered.
At the end of his speech, Duterte tried to shift from his crude demeanor, promising that if he wins, “I’ll be decent.”
Duterte’s jubilant allies declared that the election was all but decided.
Ronald Holmes, president of independent pollster Pulse Asia, however, said the race, one of the most closely fought in the country’s electoral history, remained too tight to call.
Duterte’s lead of 11 percentage points over former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas and Sen. Grace Poe in Pulse Asia’s final poll would be difficult to overtake, but it can still be “wiped out” depending on sudden loyalty shifts by voters, Holmes said by phone.
On the eve of the final day of campaigning, President Benigno Aquino III made a desperate call on candidates to agree to an alliance to defeat the brash Duterte, who has been likened to U.S. Republican presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump for his provocative remarks but has topped election polls.
