Rodrigo Duterte, the Filipino Donald Trump, favoured to win presidential race

The Philippines may be heading into a new era of strong-man rule if its generalelection Monday produces a win for presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte,who has been dubbedthe Filipino Donald Trump and earned an international reputation for his foul language andoutrageous comments.

The 71-year-oldis known for his unfiltered speeches, which have includedinsults against women and the Pope, whom Dutertecalled a "son of a whore" for holding up traffic in Manila on a recent visit.

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He is a former state prosecutor, and his tough-on-crime position is so tough that he has beenaccused of running death squadsin the southern city of Davao, where he has been mayor for over 20 years.

The squads are thought to be a kind of vigilante group that takes justice into its own hands and has killedmore than 1,000 people, according to Human Rights Watch.

Instead of thedeath squads being a problem for Duterte, however, "they are a political platform," wrotePhelimKine, the deputy director of HRW'sAsia division,in an articlelast summer.

Duterteis from the conflict-ridden southern region of Mindanao, where two Canadians were taken hostageby theradical MuslimgroupAbu Sayyaflast September.

One of them, John Ridsdel, was executed last week. Duterte reacted by saying that beheadings must stop.

"It's too early to comment.I'm not yet the president of the Philippines. But this has to stop," hetold Inquirer.net, the website of the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper andseveral other publications.

'Kill them all'

Duterte insists hiscityis an oasis of law and order in a troubled region.

But his critics say,at what cost?

"Am I the death squad? True.That is true," said Duterte last yearwhile discussing his time as mayor.

"Dutertebuilt a reputation on making Davao City one of the safest cities in the Philippines," said Marc Singer,a director at Pacific Strategies and Assessments, a risk consultancy based in Manila.

Other than his law and order platform,Dutertehas had said very little about his plans for the country.- MarcSinger, risk consultant,Pacific Strategies and Assessments

"It is true he has made Davao City a safer place for tourism and investment. However, according to national police data for 2015, Davao City has the fourth-highest incidence of crime among cities in the Philippines."

Duterte has said he would hunt down criminals with the help of the military and police and if they resisted, he would "kill them all."

Hehas pledged to revive the death penalty andexecute as many as100,000 criminals if he becomes president, thus earning him such monikers asDuterteHarry,Dirty Harryand The Punisher.

"I say let'skill five criminals every week, so they will be eliminated," media quoted him as saying in December.

Short on policy

Singer says that whileDuterte's campaign has attracted a lot of noise, it's short on substance.

"Other than his law and order platform,Dutertehas said very little about his plans for the country, but he caters to Filipinos' desire for change," he said.

He's a populist who drawshuge crowds, and he's certainly not the establishment candidate. That would beInterior Secretary Mar Roxas, the ruling party's candidate, who is the grandson of the country's fifthpresident Manuel Roxas and has the endorsement of the current president, Benigno Aquino.

LikeTrump,one of the areas that has gotten Duterte in the most hot water is the subject of women.Duterte has publicly praised the powers of Viagra, admitted to having two wives and two girlfriends and his comments on womenhave been even more off-colour than Trump's.

In early April, he made international headlines with his comments on the rape and murder of an Australian woman who was doing missionary work in a Davaoprison when she was taken hostageandkilled during a prison riot in 1989.

Duterte described seeing her face as her body was being taken out of the prison and noting that she looked "like an American actress, a beautiful one."

"I was angry because she was raped, that's one thing," he said, "But she was so beautiful, the mayor should have been first. What a waste."

When the Australian and American ambassadors to the Philippines complained, Duterte responded: "Shut your mouth." He said he would cut ties with their countries if he was elected.

1st in the polls

There is another sideto Duterte, though. He is a self-described socialist,lives in a modest home and has poured city funds into helping kids with cancer. Although his image was somewhat tarnished by allegations that came out in the final days of the election campaign claiming that he failed to declare $4.5 million US in income.

One of the big differences between him andTrump is thatDuterteis the odds-on favourite to winon Monday.

According to recent polls, Duterte has the support ofaround 33 per cent of voters, more than any other candidate, so he could very well be elected. Around 54 million Filipinos are eligible to vote in this election, including those who work overseas.

Somesee his popularity in terms similar to those used when describing Trump's surprising rise.

He voices the helplessness and rage of Filipinos forced to make do in a country where corruption is casual and crime is ordinary.- Rappler news site

Duterte represents"the politics of the extreme," said arecent polemic on theEnglish-language Filipino news siteRappler, which bills itself as a "social news network" devoted to community engagement and social change.

"He says screw the bleeding hearts, and to hell with the bureaucracy.He voices the helplessness and rage of Filipinos forced to make do in a country where corruption is casual and crime is ordinary.

"Duterte has their backs, and he says the struggle ends here, today. He goes beyond anger, even beyond solutions.Duterte offers retribution."

But the piece also offered a warning that echoed some of thehand-wringing that has accompanied the more vocal and at times violent manifestations ofTrump's growing support.

"The streets will run red," ifDuterte keeps some ofthe law-and-orderpromises he's made on the campaign trail, it warned.