Filipinos in the UAE strongly support Duterte

Mariecar Jara-Puyod, Senior Reporter

President Rodrigo Duterte has a huge following and enjoys strong support among his countrymen in the UAE. This has been reflected in the final and un-official tally of the certificates of canvas (CoC) from the 31-day overseas voting (OV) for Manila’s mid-term legislative/local elections that ended on May 13.

The canvassing began at 9:30 a.m. on May 15 at the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi after the AUHPE Election Board of Canvassers designated by Manila’s Commission on Elections (Comelec), personally received the COCs from the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai through Consul General Paul Raymund Cortes.

Cortes released the “full (and) un-official results for the Filipino vote in the UAE” through whatsApp to all Comelec-accredited journalists for the month-long news coverage at 1:05 a.m. on May 17, Friday.

The results were immediately electronically sent to Comelec in Manila.

Ambassador Hjayceelyn Quintana was set to fly to Manila on Friday evening to personally deliver the results of the COCs to Comelec, as well.

The CoCs were from the 320 clustered polling precincts that served 44,420 Filipinos (13.91 per cent) of the 319,228 Comelec-registered voters in the UAE with 109,130 in Abu Dhabi and the Western Region, and 210,090 from Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah, and Fujeirah.

The COCs disclosed that seven of the Top 12 were administration bets though representing different political parties. One is a Duterte ally. Four ran on their own.

The COCs showed that three of the leading party-list representatives gunning for seats at Manila’s House of Representatives were also pro-Duterte.

The eight identified with Duterte in the Top 12 have also been enjoying huge leads at the ongoing official tallying of votes in Manila.

They were Bato dela Rosa (35,473), Bong Go (34,019), Imee Marcos (32,317), Pia Cayetano (31,151), re-electionist Cynthia Villar (27,869), re-electionist Juan Edgardo Angara (19,871), and re-electionist Aquilino Pimentel III (16,995) at first, second, third, fifth, sixth, ninth, and 11th place, respectively.

Duterte ally Francis Tolentino (25,336) was seventh. Independent candidates Doc Willie Ong (32,233), Glenn Chong (20,615) and Larry Gadon (19,653) were at fourth, eighth, and 10th place, respectively.

Completing the Top 12 was independent candidate/re-electionist Grace Poe, among the several 2016 presidential candidates including Duterte.

Two of the Top 24 choices for senators were also campaigned for by Duterte. They were Rafael Alunan, Interior and Local Government secretary during the term of President Fidel Ramos (14,256) at 14th place and Zajid Mangudadatu, a Maguindanao congressman (13,790).  

Two of the eight opposition candidates under the Otso Diretso (Straight Eight) team were in the Top 24 namely re-electionist Paolo Benigno Aquino IV (5,955) at 22nd place and human rights lawyer Jose Manuel Diokno (5,141) at 23rd place.

The Top 2 party-list winners, according to the COCs, were Duterte endorsements Anti-Crime & Terrorism Community Involvement and  Support Inc. (ACT-CIS) with 11,700 votes and AA Kasosyo Party Producer-Consumer Exchange Association Inc. which had been linked to a non-government organisation identified with “Pork Barrel Scam Queen” Janet Napoles with 4,528 votes.

Ranked fourth was the Duterte Youth for the enlightened youth sector (2,466) as OFW-Family which promotes the protection and welfare of overseas Filipino workers and their families had secured third place (2,476).

Rounding up the Top 6 party-list choices Serbisyo sa Bayan for consumers’ rights (2,144) at fifth place and ACTS-OFW which also supports all OFWs and their families (2,006).