Duterte is In

                                

The announcement by Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte that he is running for  president in the May 2016 elections gives the Filipino electorate one more choice as to who they want to lead the nation for the next six years.

Duterte's entry into the presidential race makes it a five-way contest, pitting him against Sen. Grace Poe, United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) candidate Vice President Jejomar Binay, Liberal Party bet and former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, and Sen. Miriam Santiago. 

The latest survey of presidentiables shows Poe still the frontrunner, followed by Binay and Roxas. Duterte managed to get double-digit ratings in previous surveys even if he had said time and again that he would not seek the presidency. This could be explained by the fact that he has succeeded in bringing criminals to heel in his home turf, and his avid supporters believe that he can do the same on a nationwide scale.

What we know about Duterte is that, apart from going hammer and tongs after criminals, including drug traffickers, he wants a shift to a federal form of government, an advocacy he shares with former Sen. Aquilino "Nene" Pimentel Jr., the former head of the PDP-Laban party under whose banner the city mayor will make a stab at the presidency. We will get to know his full platform once the official campaign period starts next year, but at this point, suffice it to say that a five-way presidential race offers voters a wide range of platforms.

Or perhaps options, since their platforms are not expected to differ much from each other. 

Image by mb.com.ph