Analysts say Duterte clear winner in final debate
By NEILWIN JOSEPH L. BRAVO
He was expected to be ganged up and hit from all corners, but PDP-LABAN standard bearer and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte comfortably survived unscathed.
In the third leg of the Presidential Debates in Dagupan City last Sunday, Mayor Duterte was the clear winner according to political analysts.
The tough-talking Duterte emerged unruffled and even got the upperhand over his rivals according to Manila Bulletin’s Leandro Coronel, who sat as analyst in the ABS-CBN panel in the presidential debate sanctioned by the Commission on Elections.
Speaking before ABS-CBN’s “Huling Harapan,” Coronel stressed that of all the candidates who participated in the debate, Duterte proved to be the clear winner.
“Duterte was not mortally wounded contrary to what we expected because of the issues (that have been thrown against him). The clear winner (in the debate) was Duterte,” he stressed.
In the lone occasion that Mayor Duterte was asked of his controversial ‘rape slur’ by Sen. Grace Poe in the face-off round, Duterte easily fended off the allegations by clearing his side of the issue. “It was a narrative,” Duterte explained as he cited had the entire video been shown, it would have cleared the matter.
No other presidential rival came close to asking or rebutting Duterte on the issue.
“It appears when they come face to face with him they are afraid to ask,” said another political analyst.
For a while, Duterte engaged administration bet Mar Roxas to a fierce exchange that appeared to have gotten the better of the incensed LP bet who was losing his cool in that short foray.
Meanwhile, in Rappler’s blow-by-blow coverage of the debate, De La Salle University assistant professor Richard Heydarian pointed out how the PDP-LABAN standard bearer was able to show his political will in trying to address Mindanao’s enduring problem on terrorism.
“On that Mindanao issue, (Mayor Duterte) showed conviction,” Heydarian said.
In an opinion article published on Sunday, Inquirer columnist Randy David also gave his analysis on why many Filipino voters continue to support Duterte’s presidential bid.
“Duterte’s rise has equally been made possible by the grievances of Mindanao’s non-Muslim majority… Davao’s long-time mayor deftly articulates their sentiments by harping on the big disparity between Mindanao’s contribution to the country’s gross national product and the pittance it receives in internal revenue allotments. In this regard, Duterte’s rise mirrors the revolt of the periphery,” David explained.
Despite the rise of countless politicians who portray themselves as men of the masses, none of them challenged the prevailing system the way the Davao mayor did.
“Duterte has made it a point to mock the system and its conventions, seeing in its openings nothing more than channels through which to undermine it,” David stressed. (With a report from PNA)
