ABU DHABI // Expatriate supporters of Rodrigo Duterte rejoiced on Tuesday after he emerged as the clear favourite with Filipino voters in the UAE.
Final results show that Mr Duterte won 51,879 votes, while administration candidate Mar Roxas received 3,985 votes, followed by Miriam Defensor Santiago with 3,483. Grace Poe and Jejomar Binay, the vice president, received 1,708 and 786 votes respectively.
“He may be known as a tough-talking and brash mayor of Davao City but we expect him to get the job done,” said Jojo Bugay, 44, an administrative officer in Abu Dhabi for eight years.
“We hope that he will deliver what he promised during his campaign appearances.”
“Duterte is a man of action. Let’s see if he can fulfill his promise to his countrymen.”
Lord Colot, 42, a nurse in Abu Dhabi for 12 years, said expatriate Filipinos were expecting a major overhaul of the government. “We’ll see a significant drop in our crime rate, a stronger anti-corruption drive, and peace and order, especially in Mindanao,” he said.
Ian Flordeliza, a 34-year-old sales executive, said the desire for change was very strong among Filipinos.
“There’s a clear clamour for Duterte, for change and for a better government,” he said.
“He’ll fight drugs, corruption and poverty. We expect him to generate more jobs so that working overseas would be a choice, not a necessity.”
Of the 195,651 Filipinos who registered to vote in the UAE, 62,103 had cast their votes, indicating a voter turnout of 31.74 per cent.
“Let’s not dwell on who voted for who in the past elections,” said Paul Raymond Cortes, the consul general in Dubai, on Tuesday.
“Filipinos should take it upon themselves to think not in terms of the categories of the presidential candidates, but as one nation moving forward, ready to sail towards a greater Philippines for our children.”
rruiz@thenational.ae
