Filipinos face stark choices in candidates for president

“We were called the sick man of Asia before, but are Asia’s rising tiger now,” Aquino said last week on a trip to campaign for the candidate he’s backing, Mar Roxas, a former Cabinet member who has pledged to continue his “straight path” style of reformist presidency.

“But we couldn’t sprint forward if we step back ... if we take a U-turn back to the style of martial law,” Aquino said as he criticized presidential front-runner Rodrigo Duterte’s threats to close down Congress or establish a revolutionary government should he face impeachment or stonewalling legislators.

Filipinos have been sensitive to potential threats to democracy since they rose in a 1986 “people power” revolt that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who faced allegations of plundering a crushingly poor country and condoning widespread human rights violations by state forces.

After introducing new taxes, more accountability and reforms, including in the judiciary, and cracking down on tax evaders, the Philippines posted average GDP rates of 6.2 percent from 2010 to 2015 to become one of the world’s fastest-growing economies at a time of global economic slowdown.

Duterte is completely out of the system, he’s out of the box,” said Political Professor Richard Heydarian of De La Salle University in Manila, adding that in the mayor’s portrayal of social problems, “there is a gap between the rhetoric and reality but it’s working, it’s creating panic among a lot of people and rallying them behind Duterte.