'Trump of the East' may win presidency

It looks almost inevitable now that the Philippines' next president will be a man who has said he would kill his own children if they took drugs.

Rodrigo Duterte has a commanding lead in opinion polls ahead of the May 9 election, much to the dismay of business chiefs, investors and diplomats who see him as a clown with no clear economic policies and a possible liability for the country.

Brash and openly scathing of the political establishment on the campaign trail, he has been likened to US presidential candidate Donald Trump.