Duterte Woos Army as Opponents Warn of Discontent in Ranks
- ‘We feel honored that he prioritized visiting our men’
- Peso sinks, global funds sell, as rhetoric spooks investors
QuickTake: Philippines' Splintered Democracy
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Five months after his landslide election victory, Rodrigo Duterte can’t stop campaigning. Yet rather than courting Filipino voters who put him into office, he’s now giving out handguns and G-Shock watches to soldiers.
Duterte has given almost half his public addresses as president to a military audience -- far more than his predecessors. The 71-year-old leader’s refreshed stump speech includes promises to double troop salaries, improve health care for soldiers and secure modern equipment.