Philippines New Lawyer-President Is Hard To Figure

The new President of the Philippines, a former state prosecutor, has called the pope “the son of a whore,” vows to execute thousands of criminals and supports gay rights. As mayor of Davao he built a rare state-of-the art emergency 911-type system and is said to have reduced corruption and made the city safer. He says that he wants to advance peace with Muslim rebels and address Muslim grievances, and that he wants the country to better share the wealth. He talks of a less confrontational approach with China but once said he’d ride a jet ski to one of the disputed islands and plant the flag there. He has rejected comparisons to Donald Trump, saying that “he is a bigot and I am not.”